News

Welcome to OGC News. You can use the filter below to show only Calls For Participation in or Sponsorship of OGC Initiatives, Requests for Public Comment, General Press Releases, or Blog Posts. Or use the search box to find news on a specific topic.

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All news (1453 match criteria)

April 12, 2006

OGC Board Approves IPR Policies To Further Safeguard Open, Public Standards

OGCs IPR policy is designed to protect the Consortiums standards framework from patents that would impede development of open infrastructure for interoperable geoprocessing.OGCs IPR policy is the responsibility of its Board of Directors and the policy has represented the consortiums philosophy and practice since OGCs inception.At the same time, the new IPR policy respects the patent rights of member organizations and the value their patents represent.Without royalty free, publicly available standards, competition is dangerously inhibited, Schell continued.It is our belief that the greatest benefit of technological innovation is achieved through open, unencumbered competition.

April 12, 2006

OGC Releases Web Map Service Cookbook

Wayland, MA, May 28, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) today announced the availability of the Web Map Service (WMS) Cookbook version 1.0, the first in a planned series of books detailing the implementation and use of OpenGIS(R) Specifications.The Cookbook provides the basic understanding and steps needed for implementing and exploiting the WMS interface and related technologies.Cookbook contributors include software vendors, universities, and local government users of the WMS interface from around the world.Chapter 2 addresses the design architecture of software systems that implement the WMS interface through use-case scenarios, WMS request examples, and illustrations.OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 250 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications.

April 12, 2006

Open GIS Consortium Launches OGC User Magazine

adena [at] opengeospatial.orgWayland, MA, USA, May 9, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) announces OGC User Magazine, a free quarterly e-mail publication that highlights the use of OpenGIS® Specifications in building world class, interoperable solutions for spatial and related technologies.User organizations are extending their existing systems via OpenGIS specifications, and are embracing products in the marketplace that implement our specifications.Reichardt continues, There are still many questions about how OpenGIS specifications work, what products implement them and exactly what problems they solve.Those are exactly the types of questions OGC User will address by telling the stories of organizations that have chosen and implemented OpenGIS-based solutions.OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that geo-enable the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT.

April 12, 2006

GITA and Open GIS Consortium Host Emerging Technology Summit II: Spatial Web Services

Wayland, MA, USA, May 9, 2003 – Tim Berners-Lee and former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer will provide the keynote addresses at this years Emerging Technology Summit, sponsored by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) and the Open GIS Consortium (OGC).Berners-Lee, the Director of World Wide Web Consortium, is credited with the invention of the World Wide Web and will help attendees explore Spatial Web Services, the focus of the event.The use of Web services improves decision-making capabilities, enhances customer service, and bolsters business goals.The mission of the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) is to provide excellence in education and information exchange on the use and benefits of geospatial information and technology in business, utility, and government applications worldwide.The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications.

April 12, 2006

Local, State, Provincial and Federal Governments Reveal the Power of Interoperability for Critical Infrastructure Protection

The sponsors of this phase of the initiative include GeoConnections, led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and General Dynamics – Advanced Information Systems.Not only could the different data be brought together, it could be brought together from different hardware platforms – from mainframes to cell phones – using software from a wide variety of vendors.OGC Web Services will allow distributed geoprocessing systems to communicate with each other using technologies such as XML and HTTP.Questions about the OGC Interoperability Program should be addressed to Mr. Ron Fresne, Interoperability Initiatives Manager,, +1 (703) 707-0261.The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications.

April 12, 2006

OGC Issues Request for Technology for Web Services Initiative

rfresne [at] opengeospatial.orgjharrison [at] opengeospatial.orgWayland, MA, USA, April 30, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) invites responses to a Request for Technology (RFT) in support of an OGC Interoperability Initiative called the OGC Web Services Initiative Phase 2.Responses to this RFT should consider the work performed in the OGC Web Services Initiative Phase 1 and the specifications developed during the course of that initiative.This OGC Web Services Initiative RFT elaborates on eight themes.OGC Web Services will allow distributed geoprocessing systems to communicate with each other using technologies such as XML and HTTP.This means that systems capable of working with XML and HTTP will be able to both advertise and use OGC Web Services.

April 12, 2006

OGC Prototyping US Governments Open Platform GeoSpatial One-Stop Portal

Twenty companies offered proposals in response to a December, 2002 Request for Quotations (RFQ)/Call for Participation (CFP) in the OGC Geospatial One-Stop Portal Initiative (GOS-PI).OGC is partnering with the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) project on this work.As detailed in the OGC RFQ, the initiative sponsors and participants are working to refine and document the technical architecture of the Geospatial One-Stop Portal.James R. ONeill, President of Northrop Grumman Information Technology TASC said, The Geospatial One-Stop Portal is a key enabler for the program to allow government to government sharing of geospatial information.Questions about the OGC Interoperability Program and GOS-PI should be addressed to Mr. Ron Fresne, Interoperability Initiatives Manager,, +1 (703) 707-0261.

April 12, 2006

OGC Releases Request for Comment for Proposed Location Services Specification

Orleans, France, April 21, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) has released the proposed OpenGIS® Location Services (OpenLS™) Implementation Specification for public comment as a Request for Comment (RFC).The RFC defines XML for Location Services, which consists of interfaces for a variety of specific services.The proposed OpenLS specification is the product of the OpenLS 1 testbed initiatives held between October 2001 and October 2002.The OpenLS specification submission team includes ESRI (USA), Image Matters (USA), Intergraph IntelliWhere (Australia), MapInfo (USA) and Webraska (France).Request for Comment is a method to integrate public input into OGCs consensus process in the creation of its OpenGIS Specifications.

April 12, 2006

OGCE Invites Organisations To Qualify For European Virtual Resource Pool

Munich, Germany, April 4, 2003 – The Open GIS Consortium (Europe) Limited (OGCE) today announced the creation of the European Virtual Resource Pool (EVPool), and the availability of an Invitation to Qualify (ITQ).Participants in EVPool will undertake critical work to increase understanding of the benefits of OpenGIS® specifications in European business and government pre-procurement settings.EVPool is intended to provide technical support for OGCE projects where strategic evaluation about future investments of interoperable geoprocessing will be made.They will realise new revenue and relationship-building opportunities, and near-to-market experience in the interoperable technology adoption process.OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that geo-enable the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT.