The following information below is for OeBF Members and intended to answer in detail any questions the membership may have on the OeBF name change.

Summary of Name Change

On April 14^th, at the eBooks in Education Conference in New York, the Open eBook Forum will announce its name change to the International Digital Publishing Forum or IDPF.  The name was chosen by the OeBF Board of Directors after six months of deliberation over the future direction and scope of the organization. The vote to change the name took place at a Board meeting on June 3, 2004 and was approved.

There are three main reasons for the change.  The first is the expanding definition and product variety in the marketplace and among current IDPF members of the electronic book.  The marketplace now considers digital or electronic books to be any of the following: downloadable eBooks, digital works compiled in databases, books on peripheral devices, distance learning materials, embedded and synchronized multimedia, digital content in libraries and many more.  The second reason is the organization involvement in new digital publishing markets including the library, education, professional and consumer markets for digital content.  The third reason is to address the needs and interests of global customers and publishers as electronic content continues to grow in all forms and in all languages.

Mission Statement

The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) is the trade and standards association for the digital publishing industry.  Our members consist of academic, trade and professional publishers, hardware and software companies, digital content retailers, libraries, educational institutions, accessibility advocates and related organizations whose common goals are to advance the competitiveness and exposure of digital publishing.

The IDPF will:

• Expand the industry for digitally published works for the professional, education and consumer markets.
• Provide information to members and the public on the industry through statistical reports, policy documents, educational programs and industry conferences.
• Build and maintain industry standards that benefit members and consumers

The History of the OeBF and its Name

The Open eBook Forum (OeBF) grew out of a need in the late 1990s for a common production standard to produce electronic books.  The result was the Open eBook Publication Structure.  The Open eBook Publication Structure (OEBPS) is an XML-based specification for the content, structure, and presentation of electronic books. OEBPS is still maintained by the Open eBook Forum.

The naming of the Open eBook Forum was intended to both reflect the open architecture of OeBPS as well as to emphasize the collaborative nature of the organization in a forum-like setting.  In fact, over 85 companies and organizations were involved in the creation of the OeBPS specification.

The Open eBook Forum was formally incorporated in 2000 as a 501c6 non-profit corporation.  It maintains its services through annual membership dues.

Starting in 2002 the OeBF’s members increasingly demanded that the organization represent the trade interests of the eBook industry.  Among these interests are the collection and publication of reliable data on the eBook industry; outreach and eBook advocacy to the media, consumers and publishing industry; the presentation of industry conferences and meetings; the advocacy of the accessibility communities’ needs and requirements of electronic books; and the creation of non-technical special interest groups to discuss and solve issues that pertain to particular niches in the electronic publishing industry.

Why now?

The scope and the programs run by the Open eBook Forum are vastly expanded from its original mission in the late 1990s.  Many of the expanded activities in the organization have been operating for over three years.  The name change is intended to accommodate changes already made in the organization.

How will it affect membership, SIGs or WGs?

The name change will in no way affect the bylaws, policies and procedures, operation of OeBF groups or any other corporate document already approved by the Open eBook Forum membership.

When will the name change happen?

The name change will be announced at the eBooks in Education Conference on April 14^th, 2005 in New York City.  In a transition period of approximately 6 months, the organization will operate under both names.  Late-2005, the organization will make the full transition to the new name.

Will OeBF’s name remain for other uses?

The OeBF name will continue past the transition stage in a few select areas.  The OeBF name will continue in some of its specifications and explanations of specifications.  The use of the OeBF name will be limited to its technical work.

Why is international in the name?

“International” is in the new organization name to reflect the current 20% of the membership which is located outside of the United States.  Other participating publishers, vendors and technology companies, though may be based in a single country, are global organizations touching customers around the world.  The new name represents the global application of the OeBF’s current programs and activities.

Is the IDPF file agnostic?

Yes.  The digital publishing industry that the IDPF represents is diverse and the organization represents the diversity of file formats that the market currently supports. 

The IDPF does maintain a standard called OeBPS which is primarily a production standard used to convert to end user formats.  However, there is nothing which would limit the use of the standard for the end user.  The OeBPS standard maintained by the IDPF is a nonproprietary, open format. It is not owned by any single organization. IDPF does not intend to directly incorporate any proprietary formats into the Publication Structure, although the a fallback mechanism allows such formats to be included in an OEBPS Publication, and to be rendered by conformant reading systems—as long as the content is also available in the specific non-proprietary formats described in the Publication Structure. In addition, tools for converting from various proprietary formats into OEBPS are available.

Will any corporate rules or documents change because of the name change?

No.  No corporate or legal functioning of the organization will change.