Updated Procedures as of 04/2012

ANSI-Approved Procedures for

Accredited Standards Committee C63®

ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC)

Revision 9 December 2011

 

 

1.         General

 

These procedures meet the requirements for due process and development of consensus for approval of American National Standards as given in Clause 1.0 of the ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards - January 2011 edition.

 

2.         Organization of the committee

 

The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) C63® shall consist of its consensus body and Secretariat.  The ASC shall have a title, scope, and an interest classification system for its members.  The membership shall be sufficiently diverse to ensure reasonable balance without dominance by a single interest category in accordance with Clause 1.2 and 1.3 of the ANSI Essential Requirements.

 

3.         Responsibilities

           

3.1       Consensus Body

 

The consensus body shall be responsible for:

 

a.       Proposing American National Standards within the scope of the ASC;

b.      Developing proposed American National Standards within the scope of the ASC;

c.       Maintaining the standards developed by the ASC in accordance with Clause 4.7 of the ANSI Essential Requirements.

d.      Adopting ASC policy and procedures for interpretations of the standard(s) developed by the consensus body (see Clause 11 herein);

e.       Responding to requests for interpretations of the standard(s) developed by the consensus body (see Clause 10.3 herein);

f.       Adopting ASC procedures and revisions thereof;

g.      Other matters requiring consensus body action as provided in these procedures.

 

3.2       Consensus Body for approval of standards

 

The consensus body for approval of proposed American National Standards within the scope of the ASC C63® shall be a Balloting Group, which shall be formed as specified in Clause 8.9.

 

3.3       Secretariat

 

The Secretariat shall be responsible for:

 

a.       Applying for ASC accreditation by ANSI and maintaining accreditation in accordance with ANSI requirements, including submission of the consensus body roster;

b.      Overseeing the consensus body in compliance with these procedures;

c.       Maintaining a roster of the consensus body and a list of standards for which the consensus body is responsible;

d.      Providing a Secretary to perform administrative work, including secretarial services; preparation of meeting notices and the handling of meeting arrangements; preparation and distribution of meeting agendas, minutes, ballots, and draft standards; and maintenance of adequate records;

e.       Submitting candidate standards approved by the consensus body for approval of standards with supporting documentation, for ANSI review and approval as American National Standards;

f.       Performing other administrative functions as required by these procedures;

g.      The administrative Secretariat shall provide a written agreement to ANSI defining explicit division of these responsibilities if composed of more than one organization (i.e., co-Secretariats).

 

4.         Officers

 

There shall be a Chair and a Vice Chair appointed by the Secretariat from the individual members or representatives of the consensus body, subject to approval by majority vote of the consensus body.  Each will serve until a successor is selected and ready to serve.  The Vice Chair shall carry out the Chair’s duties if the Chair is temporarily unable to do so.  The Secretary shall be appointed by the Secretariat.

 

4.1       Steering Committee

 

There shall be a Steering Committee for C63®. The Steering Committee shall consist of the three officers appointed by the Secretariat, the immediate past Chair, plus the Subcommittee Chairs (see clause 6), and additional members of the consensus body designated by the Chair with the approval of the Steering Committee. The Chair of C63® shall be the Chair of the Steering Committee.

 

The scope of the Steering Committee shall be to:

(1)   Manage the business (administrative) affairs of C63®;

(2)   Manage the financial affairs of C63®, and;

(3)   Provide an ongoing strategic plan for C63®.

 

5.         Membership

 

Members of the consensus body shall consist of organizations (preferably national in scope), companies, government agencies, individuals, etc., having a direct and material interest in the activities of the ASC.  The selection and addition of members, along with their interest category, shall be subject to approval by a majority vote of the consensus body after the application has been processed in accordance with Clause 5.1. The termination of members shall be subject to approval by majority vote of the consensus body after a review of the membership in accordance with Clause 5.2.

 

5.1  Application

 

A request for membership on the consensus body shall be addressed to the Secretariat and shall indicate the applicant’s direct and material interest in the ASC’s work, qualifications and willingness to participate actively.  In addition, if the applicant is an organization, company, or government agency, it shall identify a representative (and an alternate, if desired).

 

5.1.1  Recommendation

 

In recommending appropriate action to the consensus body on applications for membership, the Secretariat shall consider the:

 

a.       Need for the active participation by each interest;

b.      Potential for dominance by a single interest category;

c.       Extent of interest expressed by the applicant and the applicant’s willingness to participate actively;

d.      The representative identified by the applicant organization, company, or government agency.

 

5.1.2    Diverse Interests

 

If distinct divisions of an organization demonstrate independent interests and authority to make independent decisions in the area of the activity of the ASC, each is permitted to apply for membership.

 

5.1.3    Combined Interest

 

When appropriate, the Secretariat may recommend that the applicant seek representation through an organization that is already a member and represents the same or similar interest.

 

5.2       Review of Membership

 

The Secretariat shall review the consensus body membership list annually with respect to the criteria of Clause.5. Members are expected to fulfill obligations of active participation.  Where a member is found in habitual default of these obligations, the Secretariat shall direct the matter to the consensus body for appropriate action, which may include termination of membership.

 

5.3       Observers and individual experts

 

Individuals and organizations having an interest in the ASC’s work, may request listing as observers.  The consensus body may also select individual experts to assist it.  Individual experts shall serve for a renewable term of one year and shall be subject to approval by vote of the consensus body.  Observers and individual experts shall be advised of the ASC’s activities, may attend meetings, and may submit comments for consideration, but shall have no vote.

 

5.4       Interest Categories

 

All appropriate interests that are directly and materially affected by the standards activity of ASC C63® shall have the opportunity for fair and equitable participation without dominance by any single interest.  Each member of ASC C63® shall propose its own interest category as appropriate, and in accordance with the consensus body’s established categories, when the member becomes a member of a Balloting Group for a particular standard, as specified in Clause 8.9

 

The interest categories shall be established or revised by a vote of the consensus body.  The rationale for the selection of categories shall be included in the ballot by the consensus body for approval of standards and submitted to ANSI as part of the accreditation requirements.

 

The interest categories appropriate to the development of consensus in any given standards activity are a function of the nature of the standards being developed. Interest categories shall be discretely defined, cover all materially affected parties and differentiate each category from the other categories. Such definitions shall be available upon request. In defining the interest categories appropriate to a standards activity, consideration shall be given to at least the following:

a.       Producer (primarily manufacturers affected by the standard);

b.      User (those that use the standard for such areas as education, training, keeping abreast of technology);

c.       General interest (subject is of interest but not for categories a) and b) above.

 

Where appropriate, additional interest categories should be considered.  Further interest categories that may be used to categorize directly and materially affected persons consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

 

a)      Consumer;

b)      Directly affected public;

c)      Distributor and retailer;

d)     Industrial/commercial;

e)      Insurance;

f)       Labor;

g)      Manufacturer;

h)      Professional society;

i)        Regulatory agency;

j)        Testing laboratory;

k)      Trade association.

 

Appropriate, representative user views shall be actively sought and fully considered in standards activities.  Whenever possible, user participants shall be those with the requisite technical knowledge, but other users may also participate. User participation should come from both individuals and representatives of organized groups.

 

There are several user categories:

 

1.      User-consumer: Where the standards activity in question deals with a consumer product, such as lawn mowers or aerosol sprays, an appropriate consumer participant’s view is considered to be synonymous with that of the individual user – a person using goods and services rather than producing or selling them.

2.      User-industrial: Where the standards activity in question deals with an industrial product, such as steel or insulation used in transformers, an appropriate user participant is the industrial user of the product.

3.      User-government: Where the standards activity in question is likely to result in a standard that may become the basis for government agency procurement, an appropriate user participant is the representative of that government agency.

4.      User-labor: Where the standards activity in question deals with subjects of special interest to the American worker, such as products used in the workplace, an appropriate user participant is a representative of labor.

 

5.4.1    Balance

 

Balance for balloting purposes must meet the following criteria:

 

a.       No single interest category constitutes more than one-third of the membership of a consensus body dealing with safety-related standards or

b.      No single interest category constitutes a majority of the membership of a consensus body dealing with other than safety-related standards.

 

5.5       Membership Roster

 

The Secretariat shall maintain a current and accurate consensus body roster and shall distribute it to the members and their consensus body representatives at least annually, and otherwise on request.  The roster shall include the following:

 

a.       Title of the ASC and its designation;

b.      Scope of the ASC;

c.       Secretariat:  name of organization, name of Secretary, and address(es);

d.      Officers: Chair and Vice Chair;

e.       Members: name of organization or agency, its representative and alternate (as applicable), addresses and business affiliations; or name, address, and business affiliation of individual member(s);

f.       For each subgroup: title, Chair, and names and addresses of all members.

 

6.         Subgroups created by the committee

 

6.1       Subcommittees created by the committee

 

When one or more Subcommittees are formed to expedite the work of the consensus body, their formation (and later disbandment) requires approval by a majority vote of the consensus body and appropriate public notice, e.g., the C63® website (http://www.c63.org). The scope and duties delegated to the Subcommittee shall be approved at the time it is formed, and subsequent changes in scope or duties shall also require approval by the consensus body.  The charge to the Subcommittee shall clearly state whether:

 

a.       The Subcommittee is responsible for the definitive content of one or more standards and for responding to views and objections thereon.  Such Subcommittee shall maintain a membership roster in accordance with.Clauses 5.5(a) through.5.5(f) and shall comply with the provisions in.Clauses 5.4,.7.1, and Clause 8 as applied to voting on the standard(s);

 

                  or

 

b.      The Subcommittee is responsible for assisting the consensus body (e.g. drafting all or a portion of a standard, drafting responses to comments, drafting positions on international standards, or other purely advisory functions).

 

6.1.1    Chairperson and members of Subcommittees

 

The Chair and members of a Subcommittee shall be appointed by the Chair of the consensus body and confirmed by the consensus body.  The scope, duties, and membership of all Subcommittees shall be reviewed by the consensus body annually.  The officers and members of a Subcommittee need not be members of the consensus body.

 

6.1.2    Subgroups of Subcommittees

 

Working Groups and Task Forces formed under Subcommittees shall be formed by the Subcommittee Chair and be approved by a vote of the Subcommittee. The Chairperson of the Working Group or Task Force shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Subcommittee. Membership of the Working Group or Task Force shall be open (members need not be members of the consensus body) and shall be approved by the Subcommittee; their mission and timetable shall also be approved by the Subcommittee. The membership of the Working Group or Task Force shall be reported to the consensus body for informational purposes only.

 

6.2    Approval of standards

 

6.2.1   Proposed by a Subcommittee

 

Draft standards and any substantive change (see Annex A of the ANSI Essential Requirements) in the content of a standard proposed by a Subcommittee shall be referred to the consensus body for approval.

 

6.2.2   Proposed by Subgroups of Subcommittees

 

Draft standards and any substantive change (see  Annex A of the ANSI Essential Requirements) in the content of a standard proposed by a Working Group or Task Force  shall be referred to the Subcommittee for review before submittal to the consensus body for approval. The submittal to the consensus body shall be based on a majority vote of the responsible Subcommittee.

 

7.         Meetings

 

Consensus body meetings shall be held, as decided upon by the consensus body, the Chair, the Secretariat, or by petition of five or more members, to conduct business, such as making assignments, receiving reports of work, considering draft standards, resolving differences among subgroups, and considering views and objections from any source.  Meetings of subgroups may be held as decided upon by the members or Chair of the subgroup.

 

7.1       Open Meetings

 

Meetings of the consensus body and all subordinate bodies shall be open to all members and others having a direct and material interest.  At least four weeks’ notice of regularly scheduled meetings of the consensus body shall be given by the Secretariat in ANSI’s Standards Action; or in other media designed to reach directly and materially affected interests; or in both.  The notice shall describe the purpose of the meeting and shall identify a readily available source for further information.  An agenda shall be available and shall be distributed in advance of the meeting to members and to others expressing interest.  The Secretariat may maintain a mailing list of other interests.

 

7.2       Quorum

 

A majority of the members of the consensus body shall constitute a quorum for conducting business at a meeting.  If a quorum is not present, actions shall only be taken subject to subsequent confirmation by letter ballot or vote at a future meeting.

 

8.         Voting

 

8.1       Evidence of consensus and consensus body vote

 

Evidence of consensus in accordance with these procedures and the accredited procedures of the standards developer shall be documented. Consensus is demonstrated, in part, by a vote of the consensus body. The developer's procedures shall state specifically how consensus will be determined.

 

An example of the criteria for consensus includes a requirement that a majority of the consensus body cast a vote (counting abstentions) and at least two-thirds of those voting approve (not counting abstentions). The developer may submit for approval an alternative methodology for determining consensus. The consensus body vote shall be conducted and reported in accordance with the rules set forth herein. Votes for the approval of a document or portion thereof as a candidate ANS may be obtained by letter, fax, recorded votes at a meeting or electronic means. All members of the consensus body shall have the opportunity to vote. When recorded votes are taken at meetings, members who are absent shall be given the opportunity to vote before or after the meeting.

 

8.2       Changing Votes

 

ANSI-Accredited Standards Developers (ASDs) shall not change a vote unless instructed to do so by the voter. If the change of vote was not submitted in writing by the voter, then written confirmation of such a vote change shall be provided to the voter by the developer. It is never appropriate for an ASD to inform voters that if they are not heard from, their negative vote will be considered withdrawn and their vote will be recorded as an abstention or an affirmative. All negative votes that are not changed at the request of the voter shall be recorded and reported to the BSR as unresolved negatives by any ASD that has not been granted the authority to designate its standards as American National Standards without approval by the BSR.

 

8.3       Recording and consideration of negative votes

 

 ASDs shall record and consider all negative votes accompanied by any comments that are related to the proposal under consideration. This includes negative votes accompanied by comments concerning potential conflict or duplication of the draft standard with an existing American National Standard and negative votes accompanied by comments of a procedural or philosophical nature. These types of comments shall not be dismissed due to the fact that they do not necessarily provide alternative language or a specific remedy to the negative vote.

 

8.4       Negative votes out of scope or without comments

 

ASDs are not required to consider negative votes accompanied by comments not related to the proposal under consideration, or negative votes without comments. The ASD shall indicate conspicuously on the letter ballot that negative votes must be accompanied by comments related to the proposal and that votes unaccompanied by such comments will be recorded as “negative without comments” without further notice to the voter. If comments not related to the proposal are submitted with a negative vote, the comments shall be documented and considered in the same manner as submittal of a new proposal. If clear instruction is provided on the ballot, and a negative vote unaccompanied by comments related to the proposal is received notwithstanding, the vote may be counted as a “negative without comment” for the purposes of establishing a quorum and reporting to ANSI. However, such votes (i.e., negative vote without comment or negative vote accompanied by comments not related to the proposal) shall not be factored into the numerical requirements for consensus, unless the ASD’s procedures state otherwise. The ASD is not required to solicit any comments from the negative voter. The ASD is not required to

conduct a recirculation ballot of the negative vote. The ASD is required to report the “no” vote as a “negative without comment” when making their final submittal to the BSR unless the ASD has been granted the authority to designate its standards as American National Standards without approval by the BSR.

 

8.5       Records keeping on changed votes

 

The ASD shall maintain records of evidence regarding any change of an original vote.

 

8.6       Vote

 

Except in regard to votes on membership and officer-related issues, each member shall vote one of the following positions:

 

a.       Affirmative

b.      Affirmative, with comment;

c.       Negative, with reasons (the reasons for a negative vote shall be given and if possible should include specific wording or actions that would resolve the objection);

d.      Abstain, with reasons.

 

For votes on membership and officer-related issues, the yes/no/abstain method of voting shall be followed.

 

8.6.1    Vote of alternate

 

An alternate’s vote is counted only if the principal representative fails to vote.

 

8.6.2    Single Vote

 

Generally, no representative shall have more than one vote.  However, if two or more organizations appoint the same individual to represent each of them, that individual may cast a separate vote for each organization represented.  The organizations shall confirm in writing to the Secretariat that they are aware of and will accept the results.  Additionally, representation of more than one organization by the same individual shall require approval by a majority of the consensus body, excluding the vote of that individual.

 

8.6.3    Voting Period

 

The voting period for e-mail ballots shall be three weeks. A paper ballot voting period shall be six weeks from the date of issue or as soon as all ballots are returned, whichever comes earlier.  In all cases, an extension or shortening of the ballot period may be granted at the Chair’s option, when warranted.

 

A follow-up letter requesting immediate return of the ballot shall be sent, as appropriate, to members and alternate members whose votes have not been received within ten working days before the ballot closes.  For e-mail ballots, a follow-up e-mail shall be sent within five working days before the ballot closes.

 

8.7       Actions requiring approval by a majority

 

The following actions require approval by a majority of the membership of the consensus body either at a meeting or by letter ballot:

 

a.       Confirmation of officers appointed by the Secretariat;

b.      Formation of a subgroup, including its procedures, scope, and duties;

c.       Disbandment of subgroups;

d.      Addition of new consensus body members and designation of their interest categories;

e.       Approval of withdrawal of an existing standard.

 

8.8       Actions requiring approval by two-thirds of those voting

 

The following actions require a letter ballot or an equivalent formal recorded vote with approval by at least a majority of the membership and at least two-thirds of those voting, excluding abstentions:

 

a.       Adoption of ASC procedures, interest categories, or revisions thereof;

b.      Approval for submission to ANSI of change of ASC scope

 

8.9       Voting on standards

 

For voting on proposed American National Standards within the scope of the ASC C63®, a Balloting Group, which will become the consensus body for approval of that standard, shall be formed as follows:

 

a.       An invitation to ballot on a particular standard shall be sent to all ASC C63® committee members. Those responding affirmatively shall specify their interest category for that standard. Normally these are: manufacturer, government, professional society, trade association, test laboratory, or general interest, although some standards may warrant a different set of specified interest categories.

b.      Those responding affirmatively shall comprise the balloting group, subject to review by the Secretariat to ensure balance among the interest groups. No single group of common interest shall comprise more than 50% of the balloting group. If necessary, the Secretariat will invite additional specific parties to join the balloting group, in order to provide satisfactory balance.

c.       When the balloting group is formed, the standard to be balloted shall be distributed to each member of the balloting group.

 

Approval of standards requires a letter ballot with approval by at least a majority of the balloting group and at least two-thirds of those voting, excluding abstentions. This procedure applies to:

 

a.       A new standard or reaffirmation of an existing one;

b.      Revision or addendum to part or all of a standard

 

8.10     Authorization of letter ballots

 

A letter ballot shall be authorized by any of the following:

 

a.       Majority vote of those present at a consensus body meeting;

b.      The Chair;

c.       The executive committee (if one exists);

d.      The Secretariat;

e.       Petition of five or more members of the consensus body.

 

8.11     Other review

 

Proposals for new American National Standards or reaffirmation, revision, or withdrawal of existing American National Standards shall be transmitted to ANSI for listing in Standards Action for comment.

 

The Secretariat shall determine whether listing of proposed Standards Actions shall be concurrent with the final consensus body letter ballot and whether announcement in other suitable media is appropriate.

 

Views and objections resulting from the above shall be dealt with in accordance with Clause 8.12 below. Any substantive change (see Annex A of the ANSI Essential Requirements) made in the proposed American National Standard shall be relisted in accordance with Clause 8.12.

 

8.12     Disposition of views and objections

 

When the balloting has been closed, the Secretariat shall forward the ballot tally to the Chair of the consensus body or, if appropriate, of the subgroup; the Chair shall determine whether the expressed views and objections shall be considered by correspondence or at a meeting.

 

Prompt consideration shall be given to the expressed views and objections of all participants, including those commenting on the listing in Standards Action.  An effort to resolve all expressed objections shall be made, and each objector shall be advised in writing of the disposition of the objection and the reasons therefor.  In addition, each objector shall be informed in writing that an appeals process exists within procedures used by the standards developer.

 

Substantive changes (see Annex A of the ANSI Essential Requirements) required to resolve objections, other substantive changes, unresolved objections and attempts at resolutions of negative comments shall be reported to the consensus body members in order to afford all members an opportunity to respond to them or to reaffirm or change their votes within four weeks.

 

When the above process is completed, in accordance with procedures of the standards developer, the standards developer may consider any comments received subsequent to the closing of the public review and comment period, or shall consider them at the next review.

 

8.13     Report of final result

 

The final result of the voting shall be reported, by interest categories, to the consensus body.

 

9.         Submittal of standard

 

Upon completion of the procedures for voting, disposition of views and objections, and appeals, the proposed standard shall be submitted to ANSI by the Secretariat.

 

The information supplied to ANSI by the Secretariat shall include all relevant material required by ANSI as outlined in clause 4.2 of the ANSI Essential Requirements. If the Secretariat does not submit the proposal to ANSI within a reasonable period of time, any member(s) of the consensus body may make the submittal.

 

10.       Communications

 

Correspondence of the ASC officers should be on “ASC correspondence” letterhead.

 

10.1     Formal internal communication

 

If correspondence between Subcommittees or between working groups of different Subcommittees or different Subcommittees involve issues or decisions (i.e., non-routine matters) affecting other Subcommittees, copies shall be sent to all affected Subcommittee Chairs, the Secretariat, and the consensus body officers.

 

10.2     External communication

 

Inquiries relating to the ASC should be directed to the Secretariat, and members should so inform individuals who raise such questions.  All replies to inquiries shall be made through the Secretariat.

 

10.3     Requests for interpretation of standards

 

Written inquiries requesting interpretation of the ASC’s approved American National Standards shall be responded to in accordance with Clause 11 herein.  Revisions to the standard resulting from requests for interpretations shall be processed in accordance with these procedures.

 

11.       Interpretations

 

Requests for interpretations shall be submitted or confirmed in writing to the Secretary of C63®.who shall forward the request to the appropriate Subcommittee Chair. Requests for interpretations addressed to ANSI shall be referred to the Secretary of C63®, since official interpretations of American National Standards shall be made only by the accredited standards developer responsible for maintenance of that standard.

 

Upon receipt, the Subcommittee Chair shall screen all such requests to separate those that require formal interpretation from those requesting an explanation. An interpretation provides meaning to a clause, phrase, or sentence when it is open to more than one reading or is ambiguous. An explanation does not attempt to resolve ambiguities, but tries to elucidate the reasons for a particular concept or approach.

 

The Subcommittee Chair shall prepare explanations in the manner it deems practical and send them to the party initiating the request. A copy of the explanation shall be kept in the Subcommittee Chair’s records for consideration in any revisions or amendments to the standard.

 

Requests for interpretations shall be forwarded to a designated interpretations subgroup.

The subgroup shall prepare a draft response. That draft interpretation shall be circulated within the designated interpretations subgroup and transmitted to the party initiating the request only after it has met the concurrence of the interpretations subgroup. Interpretations shall be developed in a timely fashion. A copy of the written interpretation shall be forwarded to the appropriate Subcommittee Chair. for consideration as an amendment to the standard or for inclusion in the next revision. A copy shall also be forwarded to the Secretary of C63 together with a list of members of the interpretations subgroup for the C63 permanent project files.

 

12.       Patent policy - Inclusion of Patents in ANSI-approved C63® Standards

 

Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) C63® shall comply with the ANSI Patent Policy which is reproduced in Clauses 12.1 through 12.5 below.

 

12.1     ANSI patent policy - Inclusion of Patents in American National Standards

 

There is no objection in principle to drafting an American National Standard (ANS) in terms that include the use of an essential patent claim (one whose use would be required for compliance with that standard) if it is considered  that technical reasons justify this approach.

 

If an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer (ASD) receives a notice that a proposed ANS or an approved ANS may require the use of such a patent claim, the procedures in this clause shall be followed.

 

12.2     Statement from patent holder

 

The ASD shall receive from the patent holder or a party authorized to make assurances on its behalf, in written or electronic form, either:

 

1)      assurance in the form of a general disclaimer to the effect that such party does not hold and does not currently intend holding any essential patent claim(s); or

2)      assurance that a license to such essential patent claim(s) will be made available to applicants desiring to utilize the license for the purpose of implementing the standard either:

a)      under reasonable terms and conditions that are demonstrably free of any unfair discrimination; or

b)      without compensation and under reasonable terms and conditions that are demonstrably free of any unfair discrimination.

 

12.3     Record of statement

 

A record of the patent holder’s statement shall be retained in the files of both the ASD and ANSI.

 

 12.4    Notice

 

When the ASD receives from a patent holder the assurance set forth in 12.2 above, the standard shall include a note substantially as follows:


NOTE – The user’s attention is called to the possibility that compliance with this standard may require use of an invention covered by patent rights.  By publication of this standard, no position is taken with respect to the validity of any such claim(s) or of any patent rights in connection therewith. If a patent holder has filed a statement of willingness to grant a license under these rights on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to obtain such a license, then details may be obtained from the standards developer.

 

12.5     Responsibility for identifying patents

 

Neither the ASD nor ANSI is responsible for identifying patents for which a license may be required by an  American National Standard or for conducting inquiries into the legal validity or scope of those patents that are brought to their attention.      

 

13.       Commercial terms and conditions

 

Provisions involving business relations between buyer and seller such as guarantees, warranties, and other commercial terms and conditions shall not be included in an American National Standard. The appearance that a standard endorses any particular products, services or companies must be avoided. Therefore, it generally is not acceptable to include manufacturer lists, service provider lists, or similar material in the text of a standard or in an annex (or the equivalent). Where a sole source exists for essential equipment, materials or services necessary to comply with or to determine compliance with the standard, it is permissible to supply the name and address of the source in a footnote or informative annex as long as the words “or the equivalent” are added to the reference. In connection with standards that relate to the determination of whether products or services conform to one or more standards, the process or criteria for determining conformity can be standardized as long as the description of the

process or criteria is limited to technical and engineering concerns and does not include what would otherwise be a commercial term.

 

14.       Evidence of compliance

 

Records shall be prepared and maintained to provide evidence of compliance with these procedures.   Records concerning new, revised, or reaffirmed a Standards developed by C63® maintained under the periodic maintenance option shall be retained for one complete standards cycle, or until the standard is revised. 

 

Records concerning actions on Standards developed by C63®, or a part(s) of a Standard developed by C63®, maintained under the continuous maintenance option shall be retained for a minimum of five (5) years or until approval of the subsequent revision or reaffirmation of the complete standard.

 

Records concerning withdrawals of all Standards developed by C63® shall be retained for at least five years from the date of withdrawal.

 

15.       Metric policy

 

International System of Units (SI) are the preferred units of measurement in Standards developed by C63®.

 

16.       Termination of ASC


A proposal to terminate an Accredited Standards Committee may be made by a directly and materially affected interest.  The proposal shall be submitted in writing to the ASC and to ANSI and shall include at least the following:

 

a.       Reasons why the ASC should be terminated;

b.      The name(s) of the organization(s) that will assume responsibility for maintenance of any existing American National Standard(s) that is(are) the responsibility of the consensus body.

 

If it appears, after review by ANSI and discussion among the proponent of the action, the Secretariat, and the Executive Standards Council or its designee, that the desired objectives can best be reached by termination, the proposal and supporting documentation shall be submitted to the committee with a letter ballot to terminate the committee and transfer responsibility, as appropriate, for the affected standards.  The proposal for termination of the ASC shall be announced for comment in Standards Action.

           

17.       Appeals

 

Persons who have directly and materially affected interests and who have been or may be adversely affected by a substantive or procedural action or inaction of the consensus body or the Secretariat shall have the right to appeal.

17.1     Right to Appeal:  Appeals at the standards developer level

 

Persons who have directly and materially affected interests and who have been or will be adversely affected by any procedural action or inaction by a standards developer with regard to the development of a proposed American National Standard or the revision, reaffirmation, or withdrawal of an existing American National Standard, have the right to appeal. A standards developer may choose to offer an appeals process to address appeals on other than procedural issues. Procedural complaints include whether a technical issue was afforded due process. The burden of proof to show adverse effect shall be on the appellant. Appeals of actions shall be made within reasonable time limits; appeals of inactions may be made at any time. Appeals shall be directed to the standards developer responsible for the action or inaction in accordance with the appeals procedures of the standards developer.

 

17.2     Complaint

 

The appellant shall file a written complaint with the Secretariat within thirty days after the date of notification of action or at any time with respect to inaction.  The complaint shall state the nature of the objection(s) including any adverse effects, the clause(s) of these procedures or the standard that is at issue, actions or inactions that are at issue, and the specific remedial action(s) that would satisfy the appellant’s concerns.  Previous efforts to resolve the objection(s) and the outcome of each shall be noted.

 

17.3     Response

 

Within thirty days after receipt of the complaint, the respondent (Chair or Secretariat representative) shall respond in writing to the appellant, specifically addressing each allegation of fact in the complaint to the extent of the respondent’s knowledge.

 

17.4     Hearing

 

If the appellant and the respondent are unable to resolve the written complaint informally in a manner consistent with these procedures, the Secretariat shall schedule a hearing with an appeals panel on a date agreeable to all participants, giving at least ten working days notice.

 

17.5     Appeals panel

 

The appeals panel shall consist of three individuals who have not been directly involved in the matter in dispute, and who will not be materially or directly affected by any decision made or to be made in the dispute.  At least two members shall be acceptable to the appellant and at least two shall be acceptable to the respondent.

 

17.6     Conduct of the hearing

 

The appellant has the burden of demonstrating adverse effects, improper actions or inactions, and the efficacy of the requested remedial action.  The respondent has the burden of demonstrating that the consensus body and the Secretariat took all actions in compliance with these procedures and that the requested remedial action would be ineffective or detrimental.  Each party may adduce other pertinent arguments, and members of the appeals panel may address questions to individuals.  Robert’s Rules of Order (latest edition) shall apply to questions of parliamentary procedure for the hearing not covered herein.

 

17.7     Decision

 

The appeals panel shall render its decision in writing within thirty days, stating findings of fact and conclusions, with reasons therefore, based on a preponderance of the evidence presented to the appeals panel.  Consideration shall be given to the following positions, among others, in formulating the decision:

 

a)      Finding for the appellant, remanding the action to the consensus body or the Secretariat with a specific statement of the issues and facts in regard to which fair and equitable action was not taken;

b)      Finding for the respondent, with a specific statement of the facts that demonstrate fair and equitable treatment of the appellant and the appellant’s objections;

c)      Finding that new, substantive evidence has been introduced, and remanding the entire action to the consensus body or the Secretariat for appropriate reconsideration.

 

18.       Parliamentary procedures

 

On questions of parliamentary procedure not covered in these procedures, Robert’s Rules of Order (latest edition) may be used to expedite due process.