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The DIF Working Group process is set up as follows:
DIF's Charter and various Addenda added over time by the Steering Committee include the authoritative text on all the processes and the IPR regime of the foundation.
1.Read the charter template. Under DIF, each a Working Group is governed by a (legal) charter, based on a Joint Development Foundation template and reviewed by the JDF before going into force, that registers the Working Group with the DIF's Steering Committee. Signing the same document is also used to register the participation of DIF member organizations in the Working Group; member organizations can join at or any time after chartering by signing it.
The JDF WG Charter template is a very efficient template document by design. DIF has the flexibility to modify only the name and scope of the Working Group in this document. Additionally, DIF introduced an Operating Charter template, which gives a working group freedom to add additional content or restrictions, including any processes or policies that are not part of the base charter but which can be vital for the Working Group's healthy and succesful cooperation. The Operating Charter is accepted by the WG and ratified by DIF's Steering Committee to create a higher barrier for modification.
2.Writing the WG charter. Prior to setting up the WG charter, DIF members and interested parties (which may need to join DIF or a co-sponsoring liasion organization before signing) are advised to host non-IPR protected meetings to finalize the WG Charter. While it can be challenging to do so in a non-IPR-protected context, it is essential that the group define a scope for the group and itemize both the "in-scope" and "out-of-scope" sections of the charter first. To avoid duplication of effort, it is advised to approach existing WG's to confirm there is no overlap or conflict between the scopes of bith charters. One useful input to these meetings could be a review (by one or more parties who report out to the rest of the group) the charters of DIF's existing WG, particularly the more adjacent ones.
3.Chair Selection. Secondly, the initial participants should "elect" at least two WG Chairs willing to commit to the work for at least the first year, including initial maintenance if the working group's primary work item will be finished within a year. These chairs should be from separate organizations with no explicit or implicit affiliation (subject to approval by the Steering Committee). If elections or processes other than election by the current chairs and "soft-consensus" approval by the group are required for electing new chairs later on, these processes should be described in the group's initial Operating addendum. Such addenda can be added later, but chairship (and editorship or other roles) can be a consequential decision and it is recommended such decisions be made in advance.
4.Approval by Steering Committee. Upon consensus agreement by the founding participants on charter language and initial chairs, the WG Charter can be sent to DIF's steering committe for ratification. DIF's steering committee may call on the Technical Steering Committee and/or JDF counsel to clarify the value and IP risks of the proposed working group scope, in particular its relation to prior art to which WG participants or chairs hold IP rights. If such risks are identified, the Steering Committee MAY request additional legal documentation and/or donation of such prior art to DIF stewardship before ratification.
At this point, the WG is legally established. The WG charter then becomes part of DIF's legal documents managed by LF, through their DocuSign processes. Once at least 2 members of DIF join the Working Group the WG can be considered set up, from a legal perspective.
5.Ongoing membership growth. For participants to join a DIF Working Group, participants either have to be an employee of a DIF member organization, or, if they act on their own behalf, they shall have a signed Feedback Agreement (see below, section 7) with DIF. Ongoing signatories to the already-approved WG charter are managed by LF and co-signed by the ED of DIF.
6.Updates to the IPR regime under DIF (and in general) are effective retroactively. However, for the purpose of proper management, it is better to worry in advance and not proceed with any signatures missing. WG Chairs are strongly advised to make sure all meeting attendees have signed a legal agreement with DIF when participating in a call.
In case of a possible discrepancy, substantial contribution from non-member, or lapse in coverage due to changing employment status, Chairs should request any new or ongoing participant sign a legal document making explicit that IPR is being honored. In the case that the participant refuses to do so, the WG chair should consider removing the person from the call to minimize risk to attempt to challenge the IPR coverage of the group, sometimes referred to casually as "trolling".
7.Feedback Agreement: Participants in a WG currently employed by DIF member org that are covered by the Feedback Agreement rather then by the IPR terms of their employment act on their own behalf, not on behalf of any employer. (Note: this is modeled on the CLA of the W3C). If someone wants to represent their company in a working group, that company must both be a member of DIF and a signatory to the WG's charter. (Note: these terms also mirror those of W3C working groups.)
8.Day-to-day IPR Enforcement. The best way to manage IPR day in and day out is to think of each participant is potentially a "patent troll," whether by design or unwittingly. In practice, people may be participating in a working group in good faith but still unwittingly bring into the discussion experiences or ideas that are "property" of their current employer, and operating on partial or out-of-date knowledge of that company's patent holdings and IPR strategy. It it recommended that no exceptions or special treatment be extended to any non-member guests during WG meetings, on WG mailing lists or Slack channels, or over personal email/private message, regardless of intention to sign the charter at a future time.