Chapter 1: General Provisions

(Name)

Article 1: This consortium shall be called the “ORiN Consortium” (hereinafter referred to as the “Consortium”).
2. The Consortium shall be called the “ORiN (Open Resource Interface for the Network / Open Robot Interface for the Network) Consortium”, the name being in English.

(Purpose)

Article 2: The Consortium shall aim to contribute to the healthy development of the manufacturing industry through efforts to disseminate and raise awareness of ORiN, which is technology to connect industrial machines using different architectures, in order to establish the common infrastructure technology necessary for the realization of an open data exchange environment for robots and other production systems in the manufacturing industry.

(Activities)

Article 3: In order to achieve the purpose mentioned in the preceding article, the Consortium will engage in activities related to the following issues:
(1) Improvement and research and development of ORiN
(2) Dissemination and public relations related to ORiN
(3) Exchange of information and staff with relevant organizations in Japan and overseas
(4) Distribution of documents and software related to ORiN
(5) Other activities considered necessary for the achievement of the purpose mentioned in the preceding article

Chapter 2: Membership

(Membership requirements)

Article 4: The members shall be companies and equivalent organizations that agree to the business purpose of the Consortium and have submitted the designated admission application and paid the annual fee.
2. The admission date shall be the date when the payment of the annual fee is confirmed for those members who are required to pay the annual fee, or the date when the admission application is received for those members who are not required to pay the annual fee.
3. Any member who withdraws from the Consortium must notify the Secretariat in writing at least one month before the withdrawal. Withdrawal will be confirmed 30 days after the receipt of the withdrawal notice. Those members who have withdrawn from the Consortium shall lose the benefits and obligations which were given to them.
4. A member may change to a different type of membership by submitting the designated membership change application and paying the difference in the annual fee.
5. If any member fails to pay the annual fee for one year without reasonable grounds and does not respond to the reminders issued, the member shall be deemed to withdraw from the Consortium two months after the beginning of the next fiscal year and shall lose the benefits and obligations which were given to the member.
6. The Consortium may grant corporations and similar organizations that meet any of the following conditions and that have been approved by the Steering Committee to become executive members.
(1) Be the founder defined in Article 18
(2) Has been a regular member of the Consortium for more than 5 years
(3) Has been recommended by an executive member
7. The Consortium may grant persons who have made remarkable contributions to the Consortium or who have made outstanding achievements or accomplishments to become honorary members.
8. Honorary members are limited to those who meet all of the following conditions.
(1) Has been a member of the Consortium for more than 10 years
(2) Has been an officer of the Consortium (chairman or vice chairman of the Consortium, or chairman of each committee) or a regular member who has made outstanding achievements
(3) Not being a member of a corporation or an equivalent organization
9. Honorary members shall be approved by the Steering Committee upon self-application or recommendation by an executive member.
(1) Honorary members must meet the conditions set forth in clause 8, and must apply by themselves or be recommended by an executive member. However, in the case of recommendation, the consent of the recommended person is required
(2) The Steering Committee shall deliberate and approve the application
(3) Former members who have already resigned from the membership may apply by themselves or may be recommended by an executive member

(Types of memberships)

Article 5: The members shall consist of executive members, regular members, associate members, research members, supporting members, honorary members and online members.

(Executive membership)

Article 6: Executive members shall meet the conditions set forth in clause 6 of Article 4 and shall have paid an annual fee of 250,000 yen.
2. Executive members have the following benefits and rights:
(1) To attend all committee meetings
(2) To participate in the improvement and research and development of ORiN
(3) To participate in the events organized by the Consortium at a discounted rate, and to purchase publications issued by the Consortium at a discounted rate
(4) To access areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted
(5) To have the use of the Consortium’s provider certification service without a fee
(6) To use the ORiN provider development license and ORiN kernel license without a fee
(7) To incorporate the ORiN kernel license into mass production devices for one purpose (one product/system/service which uses ORiN) and to sell them indefinitely without limitation
(8) To use the ORiN name as part of the product and service names related to the ORiN-supported products developed, manufactured or sold by them

(Regular membership)

Article 7: Regular members shall have paid an annual fee of 100,000 yen.
2. Regular members have the following benefits and rights:
(1) To attend Technical Committee and Public Relations Committee meetings
(2) To participate in the events organized by the Consortium at a discounted rate, and to purchase publications issued by the Consortium at a discounted rate
(3) To access areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted
(4) To have use of the provider certification service of the Consortium without a fee
(5) To use the ORiN provider development license and ORiN kernel license without a fee
(6) To incorporate the ORiN kernel license into mass production devices for one purpose and to sell them indefinitely without limitation
(7) To use the ORiN name as part of the product and service names related to the ORiN-supported products developed, manufactured or sold by them

(Associate membership)

Article 8: Associate members shall have paid an annual fee of 50,000 yen.
2. Associate members have the following benefits and rights:
(1) To participate in the events organized by the Consortium at a discounted rate, and to purchase publications issued by the Consortium at a discounted rate
(2) To access areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted
(3) To receive the Consortium’s provider certification service without a fee
(4) To use the ORiN provider development license and ORiN kernel license without a fee

(Research membership)

Article 9: Research members shall be educational institutes, non-profit institutes or individuals who aim to conduct research and have submitted the admission application designated in Article 4 for universities and other educational institutes and individuals, or have paid the annual fee of 50,000 yen for research institutes.
2. Research members may have the following benefits and rights:
(1) To attend Technical Committee and Public Relations Committee meetings if they are educational or research institutes
(2) To participate in the events organized by the Consortium at a discounted rate, and to purchase publications issued by the Consortium at a discounted rate
(3) To receive the Consortium’s certification service without a fee
(4) To use the ORiN provider development license and ORiN kernel license without a fee
3. Research members shall have the following obligations:
(1) To report to the Consortium the results of applying ORiN in their research activities
(2) To report in advance to the Consortium any planned external presentations or publicity, such as papers and online posts, relating to research in which ORiN is involved

(Supporting membership)

Article 10: Supporting members shall be public interest corporations and non-profit voluntary associations which aim to exchange information and which have submitted the admission application as designated in Article 4.
2. Supporting members have the following benefits and rights:
(1) To receive information on the events organized by the Consortium, etc. from the Consortium
(2) To ask the Consortium to promote information on events, etc., organized by them
(3) To co-sponsor events organized by the Consortium
(4) To use the ORiN provider development license and ORiN kernel license without a fee
3. Supporting members shall have the following obligations:
(1) To meet requests for the promotion of information on the events organized by the Consortium, etc.

(Honorary membership)

Article 11: Honorary members shall meet all the conditions set forth in clauses 7, 8 and 9 of Article 4. There shall be no annual membership fee.
2. Honorary members may have the following qualifications:
(1) To attend Technical Committee and Public Relations Committee meetings
(2) To access areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted
(3) To have the right to vote for and to be elected as an officer, only when an executive member deems it necessary

(Online membership)

Article 12: Online members may access the areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted by registering their personal information. There shall be no annual fee.

(Payment of the fee for enrollment in the middle of a fiscal year)

Article 13: Any member enrolled in the Consortium in the middle of a fiscal year shall pay the fee calculated on a monthly basis.
2. Any member who has changed in the middle of a fiscal year to a different type of membership whose fee is higher shall at the time of the change pay the difference in the fee calculated on a monthly basis for the remainder of the year.
3. The fee paid by any member who has withdrawn from the Consortium in the middle of a fiscal year will not be refunded.
4. Any member who has changed in the middle of a fiscal year to a different type of membership whose fee is lower shall not be refunded in relation to the difference in fee between membership types.

(Compliance with the license agreement)

Article 14: Members must comply with the license agreement established separately on the use of software distributed by the Consortium, etc.

(Withdrawal of rights)

Article 15: If a member commits an improper act related to the use of the documents and software distributed by the Consortium, etc., its rights will be withdrawn and the member will be informed accordingly.

(Clear indication of the registered trademark)

Article 16: Any written works, printed materials, etc. related to ORiN must clearly indicate that ORiN is a registered trademark of the Japan Robot Association.

(Use of the logo)

Article 17: For the right to use the logo, members must comply with the regulations for use of the logo, established separately.

(Definition of the founders)

Article 18: Those executive members, regular members, associate members and research members who have continuously been the members since the foundation of the Consortium on October 1, 2002 are defined as the founders of the Consortium.

Chapter 3: Organization

(Chairman and vice-chairman)

Article 19: There shall be a chairman of the Consortium. A vice-chairman may also be appointed as needed.
2. The chairman represents the Consortium and presides over its management.
3. The chairman and vice-chairman shall be elected in a Steering Committee meeting and the term shall be two years; provided, however, that this shall not preclude the serving officers from being re-appointed.
4. The chairman must receive reports from the Steering Committee and inform all members of the status of the activities of the Consortium based on the reports once a year.
5. The chairman and vice-chairman have the following rights:
(1) To attend all committee meetings
(2) To participate in the improvement and research and development of ORiN
(3) To access the areas of the website operated by the Consortium to which access is otherwise restricted

(Committees)

Article 20: In order to promote the business of the Consortium consistently, a Steering Committee shall be established, composed of executive members.
2. To promote surveys, research and development and other activities consistently, the following committees, etc. shall be established to oversee the respective subjects under the Steering Committee.
(1) Technical Committee, which considers the technical content of ORiN, the organization and management of deliverables and the preparation of technical documents
(2) Public Relations Committee, which considers dissemination and awareness-raising activities and engages in actual activities based on the results

(Steering Committee)

Article 21: A Steering Committee meeting shall ordinarily be organized once a year.
2. The Steering Committee shall deliberate on the following matters and report the results to the chairman.
(1) The business plan and business report
(2) The budget and settlement of accounts
(3) Coordination of the Technical and Public Relations Committees
(4) Other matters necessary for the operation of the Consortium
3. The Steering Committee shall be composed of executive members.
4. The chairman of the Steering Committee shall be elected from among executive members. The term shall be two years; provided, however, that this shall not preclude the serving officer from being re-appointed.
5. The chairman of the Steering Committee may appoint more than one vice-chairmen of the committee as needed.
6. A Steering Committee meeting requires the attendance of two-thirds or more of the committee members and resolutions shall be made with the agreement of a majority of the attending committee members. In the case of a tied vote, the chairman of the Steering Committee shall cast the deciding vote.
7. When any committee member who cannot attend the meeting for unavoidable reasons casts a vote on any matter notified in advance in writing or delegates the voting right to any agent, the member shall be deemed to have attended the meeting.
8. The Steering Committee may establish sectional committees to facilitate the committee smoothly. The chief of a sectional committee shall be elected by the chairman of the Steering Committee from among the Steering Committee members; provided, however, that this shall not preclude any agent in the same company as the Steering Committee member from being appointed.

(Technical and Public Relations Committees)

Article 22: The Technical and Public Relations Committees shall be composed of executive members, regular members and research members from educational and research institutes; provided, however, that any non-eligible person can attend a committee meeting as an observer with the agreement of a majority of those present on the day of the meeting.
2. The chairmen of the Technical and Public Relations Committees shall be elected from among executive members and academic experts with the agreement of the Steering Committee.
3. Both committees must report the status of their activities to the Steering Committee.
4. The chairmen of the Technical and Public Relations Committees may appoint more than one vice-chairman of the Technical and Public Relations Committees or secretaries from among the members of the respective committees as needed.
5. The chairmen of the Technical and Public Relations Committees may establish subcommittees under the control of the Technical and Public Relations Committees as needed.

(Secretariat)

Article 23: The Consortium shall establish its secretariat in the Japan Robot Association.
2. The Secretariat shall engage in the following operations.
(1) Membership procedures
(2) Office and accounting management
(3) Distribution of documents and software relating to ORiN
(4) Communication within and outside the Consortium and public affairs
(5) Other necessary operations for the management of the Consortium

Chapter 4: Miscellaneous rules

(Change of the constitution)

Article 24: This constitution may be changed with agreement by the Steering Committee.

(Dissolution and disposal of residual property)

Article 25: The Consortium may be dissolved with agreement by at least two-thirds of Steering Committee members.
2. The property remaining at the time of the dissolution shall be disposed of by agreement of the Steering Committee.

(Subsidiary rules)

Article 26: Any matters necessary for the management of the Consortium and the enforcement of this constitution shall be specified separately by the chairman of the Consortium after resolution by the Steering Committee.

Supplementary provisions (established on October 1, 2002)
This constitution comes into effect on October 1, 2002.
Supplementary provisions (revised on April 1, 2004)
The provisions revised on April 1, 2004 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on April 1, 2008)
The provisions revised on April 1, 2008 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on April 1, 2011)
The provisions revised on April 1, 2011 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on April 1, 2012)
The provisions revised on April 1, 2012 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on October 1, 2015)
The provisions revised on October 1, 2015 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on September 1, 2016)
The provisions revised on September 1, 2016 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on July 1, 2020)
The provisions revised on July 1, 2020 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on March 1, 2022)
The provisions revised on March 1, 2022 come into effect on the same day.
Supplementary provisions (revised on September 1, 2022)
The provisions revised on September 1, 2022 come into effect on the same day.