The UNIX Certification Program
The UNIX Trademark
The Open Group owns the UNIX trademark and grants licenses through the UNIX Certification Program. Suppliers are granted a license to use the UNIX trademark in connection with a product when the product has been demonstrated as passing the applicable certification test suites and the supplier has formally agreed to the terms of the Certification Program.
Benefits of the UNIX Certification Program
Certification provides formal recognition of a products conformance to the Single UNIX Specification.
Suppliers are able to make and substantiate clear claims of conformance to the standard. Buyers are able to specify and successfully procure conforming products.
Certification applies to a product or product family marketed by a supplier and means that a configuration matching a particular Product Standard will be delivered in full. Certification indicates confidence in the suppliers ability to stand behind their registered products and provide a commitment to buyers.
Anyone buying a certified product is guaranteed that: The product conforms to the Single UNIX Specification. The product is guaranteed to remain conformant throughout fixes, functional enhancements, and performance improvements. If it does not continue to conform, its registration and the suppliers eligibility to use the trademark will be lost. Any conformance problem will be fixed within a prescribed timescale.
August 2003 The Open Group. All rights reserved.
www.opengroup.org
Product Standards
The UNIX Certification Program is structured as a series of documents known as Product Standards which contain the conformance requirements for discrete areas of the technology. Product Standards provide a mapping between certification, the specifications and the test suites needed to demonstrate conformance. A Product Standard details the technical conformance requirements, specific testing requirements and, if applicable, migration information from previous versions of the Product Standard. Product Standards within the UNIX Certification Program include those listed below. A full list of the Product Standards is available on The Open Group website. UNIX 03 UNIX 98 UNIX 98 Workstation UNIX 98 Server UNIX 95 Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Motif X Window System
Procurements
One of The Open Groups main objectives is to simplify IT Procurement. Through user and industry participation, The Open Group has produced the UNIX product standards reflecting market requirements as an aid to procurers. Many major IT tenders require guarantees of conformance by using The Open Groups UNIX Product Standards, and a number of new governments and other organizations specify UNIX for their procurements. In the past few years, the value of worldwide procurements requiring UNIX and other certified products of The Open Group was more than US$40 billion. Suppliers with products certified by The Open Group gain access to this important marketplace.
The Trademark License Agreement (TMLA)
The Open Groups Trademark Licesc Agreement (TMLA) governs the use of the UNIX trademark. Suppliers wishing to register a product for certification must first sign this Agreement. By signing the TMLA, the supplier warrents and represents that any products they register will fully conform to the identified Product Standadrd(s) and will continue to do so. The terms of the TMLA allow the supplier to use the UNIX registered trademark in connection with their registered products. This is crucial for successful tenders in procurement situations where the buyer stipuletes compliance to a Product Standard. The Agreement must be signed in advance of registering products for certification. By Signing the TMLA and registering a product, royalties are payable for use of the trademarks.
Registering a Product for Certification
The Product Registration Form is part of the Trademark License Agreement. The supplier lists the Product Standards for which certification is requested, the product name and operating environment. When certification is awarded (and thereafter), by signing this form the supplier warrants that the registered product complies with the Product Standards. The Conformance Statement is the suppliers documented set of claims describing the way in which their product meets the conformance requirements of the Product Standard. The information is useful for end-users, and application developers involved for portability purposes. Included in the Conformance Statement: The operating environment in which the conformance is warranted. Details of the specific configuration used to validate conformance, and in sufficient detail to enable the results of any applicable tests to be reproduced. Any optional functionality described in the Product Standard that has been implemented in the suppliers product.
Testing a Product for Certification
Before a product can be certified, it must demonstrate that it meets the conformance requirements. This means submitting test results from authorized test suites for inspection by The Open Group. For practical reasons, the coverage of any test suite is incomplete. Test suites cannot prove conformity - they can only demonstrate certain non-conformities. So passing the tests is treated as an indicator of compliance rather than proof of compliance. What the indicator of compliance provides is high confidence for the supplier that their product conforms to the Product Standard.
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Certification
To qualify for certification, a product must pass the relevant test suite(s) and the supplier must warrant and represent that the product conforms to the applicable Product Standard. After initial certification, The Open Group may periodically request re-testing of the certified product. For example, where the test suite has been updated, testing may be requested using the latest version.
Publication
The Open Group maintains a Register of Certified Products which is published on the web. All products certified as conforming to UNIX and Common Desktop Environment product standards are published in the Register. The Conformance Statement is linked to the suppliers certified product in the Register. In addition, unique certificates are issued to the supplier for each product certified.
Program Fees
Annual fees apply, which are referenced by the Trademark License Agreement: License fee for the TMLA to remain in place Product registration fees Program fees (royalties) Separate fees apply for the test suites.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N
Chris Parnell Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa +44 [0] 118 902 3038 c.parnell@opengroup.org
Jack Fujieda Japan +81 44 221 2180 j.fujieda@opengroup.org
Maggie Roth Rest-of-World +1 415 374-8280 x 232 m.roth@opengroup.org
August 2003 The Open Group. All rights reserved.
www.opengroup.org
