The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announced a new, simplified compliance fee schedule. The new fee schedule will take effect 1 March 2014.
OGC standards provide a basis for sharing geospatial information and communicating geoprocessing instructions. They are free to download and free to use in software implementations. The OGC Compliance Program provides a free online testing facility to check for proper implementation of the standards, and a process for certification of products that implement OGC standards.
Once an organization has successfully tested an implementation of an OGC standard, the organization can acquire a license to use the “Certified OGC Compliant” mark to promote their implementation on web pages and other marketing material. Their implementation is also promoted on the OGC Compliant Products Web page.
The OGC invites organizations to start the process of getting their products certified. Complaint products are easier to integrate and maintain, and they increase the available market for those products. Certified compliant products increase a customer’s confidence in a vendor, which makes that vendor’s products easier to sell.
The current fee schedule is here: http://www.opengeospatial.org/compliance#trademark.
The new fee schedule is here: http://www.opengeospatial.org/compliance/newfees14.