How to Certify a Product under the Open Brand Program

The key steps are shown in Certification of a Product.

The key steps are described below in chronological order:

1. Although the concept of submitting a product for Certification is simple, it is highly recommended that you contact Conformance Administration at conformance@opengroup.org before starting the process. This will enable The Open Group to answer any questions and confirm the understanding of the various steps. It also helps the scheduling of any audits and sets up a working relationship with all concerned. Conformance Administration will be able to advise the customer if there have been any recent enhancements to the process. This gives the best possible chance of completing the Product Certification in the required time.

2. Your company needs to have a signed Trademark License Agreement in place before you can certify a product. Check to see whether your organization has signed the latest Open Brand Trademark License Agreement. A single signing of an up-to-date Trademark License Agreement covers all your Certified Products. A TMLA Application Form is available at www.opengroup.org/openbrand; however, the form must be printed, signed, and submitted to Conformance Administration. A covering letter relating to royalty payments and program options should accompany the completed and signed form. A sample letter is also available.

3. You should examine details of The Open Group Product Standards at www.opengroup.org/prodstandards and determine which Product Standard best fits your need. Checklists are available to assist Product Certification at www.opengroup.org/testing/checklist.

4. You are advised to check the referenced specifications and standards and look for any published corrigenda at www.opengroup.org/corrigenda. You should ascertain whether any Permanent or Temporary Interpretations have been issued by looking at www.opengroup.org/interpretations/database. It might be appropriate to establish whether any Test Suite Deficiencies have been issued. Advanced preparation of this type will reduce the incidence of problems at a later stage.

5. Indicators of Compliance relate to successful completion of conformance tests. Examine the Product Standards to see where test results or a test certificate is required. Where they are required, you will need to send a signed and dated hard copy of the first pages of the relevant test report, or a hard copy of the relevant certificate, such as an AJPO Ada Certificate. In addition, you need to submit electronic files including relevant test results, journal files, and a list, in table form, of any results that require Interpretations together with the referenced granted Interpretation numbers. The results should be from a currently authorized version of the test suite. Unless previously agreed with The Open Group the test results should come from an uninterrupted pass of the test suite. The specific requirements for each Product Standard are provided at www.opengroup.org/testing.

6. If there are any deficiencies in the test suite report, re-check for published Interpretations and Test Suite Deficiencies at www.opengroup.org/interpretations/database and report any problems to Conformance Administration who will advise on the appropriate next steps.

7. A Conformance Statement is required for each Product Certification to a particular Product Standard. Applicants create them by accessing the relevant Conformance Statement Questionnaire at www.opengroup.org/csq, answering all the questions, and submitting the completed Conformance Statement electronically. Please note that there is one Conformance Statement Questionnaire for each Product Standard and you may need to submit multiple Conformance Statements where one Product Standard references another.

8. Each product to be certified needs to be the subject of a complete, authorized Product Registration Form (see Product Certification). The completed and signed Product Registration Form should be sent with an accompanying letter with supporting materials and purchase order details. Supporting materials should include hard copy and electronic documentation as appropriate: the completed Conformance Statement(s) and the test report(s) or certificate(s) that serve as Indicators of Compliance.

9. If all the information is in order, The Open Group will certify the product and provide an Open Brand Certificate. Details from the Register of Open Brand Certified Products appear at www.opengroup.org/regproducts.

10. If the information is not in order, applicants may be asked to re-submit their application or supporting materials.

11. Successful applicants should schedule for annual renewal of their Product Certification.