Purpose. This document describes how interested parties can submit any techology contributions to the Web3D Consortium for review and potential support of the Web3D Consortium standards-development process.

• Open Standards advocated by the Web3D Consortium represent the best community standards for Web-based 3D graphics.
• Extensible 3D (X3D) Graphics and Humanoid Animation (H-Anim) include a coordinated set of steadily evolving ISO/IEC standards.
• Steady progress provides forwards and backwards compatility for archival interoperability, as described in our Web3D Standards Strategy.
• Specification comments and suggestions are always welcome from anybody regarding Web3D Standards.

Our Standards Adoption Process covers most cases where members want to contribute to Web3D Consortium standards.  This process is effective, includes public comment, and has a proven track record.  Even so, in some cases, special submissions may also be useful.  When appropriate, Web3D Consortium also encourages interested members to submit written proposals for advancement of these standards.

Of related interest: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)  Member Submissions.

Member submission, review and potential publication of major contributions is a significant benefit of membership.

Proposal Items for Contributions

The following items need to be addressed in each proposal, though every item is not necessarily required.

1. Clear definitions are needed, what is the technology being proposed?
2. Specification prose will eventually be needed that formally describes these capabilities.
3. Compatibility/evolution plan for integration with existing X3D and H-Anim standards, if needed.
4. Two independent implementations to show feasibility, at least one in open source. (Submissions are permissible with a single implementation, as long as a second implementation might be developed.)
5. Example X3D scenes that demonstrate common use cases for authors who want to utilize the technology.
6. Intellectual property rights (IPR) commitment that, if accepted, the technology is Royalty Free (RF) for any use.  Please see the Web3D Consortium Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy for additional details.

Submission Process

1. Prepare a sharable abstract (or summary README) along with a reference document set containing the proposal material that can be transferred, either physically or electronically, to the Consortium.
2. Prepare a copyright statement that either a) Unconditionally assigns the copyright to the Web3D Consortium; or b) licenses the material to the Web3D Consortium to meet the requirements of clauses 2.1 Copyright License and 2.2 Reciprocal License Grant of the Web3D Consortium Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy.
3. Prepare an IPR declaration to meet the requirements of clause 3 Disclosure of Necessary Patent Claims of the Web3D Consortium Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy. This declaration may either a) Assert that there are no known patent claims; or b) List IP Disclosures in accordance with the said clause 3.
4. Prepare a statement indicating whether public release is permitted, or access is restricted solely to Web3D Consortium members.
5. Send a written submission, incorporating the four items above, to the X3D Working Group co-chairs.
6. Received submissions are only accessible to Web3D Consortium members during initial review. 

Review Process

Web3D working groups review all member contributions in detail.  Following preliminary comments and review recommendations by the appropriate working groups, the Board of Directors (BoD) decides whether or not to accept and publish the contribution.

If accepted (perhaps with some editing), and as appropriate, member submissions may remain member-visible or become publicly sharable. If a submission is accepted, it is clearly marked as a contribution.  Working groups might later consider contribution ideas and capabilities as appropriate according to the Standards Adoption Process.

Membership has value!  The many successes of this standards-development process have always been based on contributions and comment by Web3D Consortium members, with repeated open review by the public, prior to adopting any new technology into these specifications. The Web3D Consortium Board of Directors (BoD) make the final decision before specification changes are submitted to the International Standards Organization (ISO).

Please make all proposal submissions to the X3D Co-Chairs. It is best to use the contact page for initial notification.