Three countries Appeal Against OOXML Standardization
(June 2, 2008) 
India, South Africa and Brazil have filed appeals against the adoption of the
Microsoft-sponsored Office Open XML (OOXML) document format as an
international standard. The appeals where filed at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the two standardization bodies responsible for the technical committee which approved the OOXML standard.
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The so-called Fast Track process leading up to that vote has been widely criticized by participants and observers as too rushed. If a draft standard going through that process is rejected in an initial vote because it requires further work, a ballot resolution meeting (BRM) is called to discuss the criticisms made and improve the draft.
Delegates at the February BRM for OOXML had just five days to deal with over 1,000 editorial changes and technical criticisms. Since that meeting, in which many of the changes were put to a vote without discussion, the process has slowed down, and the final version of the text has still not been circulated to national standards bodies over a month after the deadline for publication set by JTC1 rules.
The rushed meeting and the delayed publication are among the grounds for appeal cited by South Africa and Brazil, according to copies of the letters posted by lawyer and standards blogger Andy Updegrove.
The importance of the OOXML standard is fast diminishing: Microsoft said last week that it does not expect to make its current generation of office productivity software, Office 2007, compliant with the ISO/IEC version of the OOXML standard.
