The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have agreed to extend their existing cooperation agreement—which describes a procedure for submitting and approving existing IEEE standards to IEC—to include a procedure permitting joint, parallel development of a project in both organizations leading to an IEC/IEEE International Standard.

The
agreement is an addendum to the original IEC-IEEE Dual Logo Agreement,
signed in October 2002. It establishes procedures for the two to
jointly develop standards, the process of which includes consulting to
establish the need for new standards projects, initiating a joint
development project, preparing and circulating draft standards, and
voting to approve those standards. It also includes processes for
maintenance of approved standards to keep them up to date, as well as
details on publication, copyright and sales.



“We are
extremely pleased to extend our agreement with IEC,” said Terry
deCourcelle, director, IEEE-SA Governance & International Standards
Programs. “This new procedure will allow both IEEE working groups and
IEC Technical Committees to jointly develop standards in the same field
while sharing information and development from all parties. This type
of international cooperation is critical for the development of future
standards that will be accepted by the worldwide technical community.”



“With
this new agreement, IEC and IEEE continue their commitment to respond
to the needs of the marketplace,” said Aharon Amit, General Secretary
& CEO, IEC. “We are reducing the resource burden on industry by
rationalizing the work of the experts participating in the standards
development process.”



The first standard completed under the IEC/IEEE dual logo agreement was published in May 2004.



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