How to Achieve the Open Brand

The key steps are shown in the following figure:

The key steps are described below in chronological order:

1. Although the concept of Product Registration is simple, it is highly recommended that you contact the Conformance Administrator before starting the process. Email the Conformance Administrator at conformance@opengroup.org. 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. The Conformance Administrator 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 Registration in the required time.

2. Your company needs to have a signed Open Brand Trademark License Agreement in place before you can register 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 Open Brand Trademark License Agreement covers all your Registered Products. We provide a TMLA Application Form at http://www.opengroup.org/registration; however, the form must be printed, signed, and submitted to the Conformance Administrator. A covering letter relating to royalty payments and program options should accompany the completed and signed form. A sample letter is available on the web.

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

4. You are advised to check the referenced specifications and standards and look for any published corrigenda at http://www.opengroup.org/corrigenda. You should ascertain whether any Permanent or Temporary Interpretations have been issued by looking at http://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 on the Web at http://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 http://www.opengroup.org/interpretations/database and report any problems to the Conformance Administrator who will advise on the appropriate next steps.

7. A Conformance Statement is required for each Product Registration to a particular Product Standard. Applicants create them by accessing the relevant Conformance Statement Questionnaire on The Open Group web site at http://www.opengroup.org/csqs, 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 registered needs to be the subject of a complete, authorized Product Registration Form (see Product Registration). 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 register the product and provide an Open Brand Certificate. Details from the Register appear on The Open Group web site at http://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 Registration.