WHATWG

Participant Agreement

Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement

All Entities and Individuals, by participating or contributing, agree to certain commitments, including licensing obligations relating to copyrights and patents, as set forth in this Contributor and Workstream Participant Agreement (“Agreement”) and the written WHATWG Policies. Individuals, other than those invited by the Steering Group, who work in the field of web technologies as an employee, contractor, or agent of another person or legal entity must have this Agreement executed by an authorized representative of that Entity. (To make Contributions, an Entity must be a Workstream Participant.)

Terms not defined here are defined in the WHATWG Policies.

Entity” means a legal entity that makes Contributions through its employees, agents, contractors, and other representatives; "Affiliate" means any legal entity that directly or indirectly Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with an entity. "Control" means the power to determine the course of action of another entity (for example by ownership of more than 50% of the voting stock or equity, authority to appoint a majority of the board or equivalent body, or by virtue of its voting or other rights).

Individual” means one of the following:

Rights and obligations

Each Individual and Entity agrees that participation in the WHATWG is subject to all WHATWG Policies (including but not limited to the Workstream Policy and IPR Policy and the associated copyright and patent obligations) in effect at the time.

Additionally, for the entire duration of Individual's participation in the WHATWG, such Individual hereby agrees that they will, as soon as is reasonably practicable, notify the Steering Group of any (1) change in employment or affiliation; and (2) possible conflicts of interest, including, without limitation, conflicts relating to participation in other standards organizations or involvement in other projects that might compete with the work of the Workstream in which such Individual is participating.

Each Individual hereby represents and warrants that making Contributions or executing this Agreement will not violate, conflict with, or result in the breach of any other agreement with or obligation to any other party.

Obligations of Affiliates

In addition to its “Rights and obligations” set forth above, each Entity further agrees to ensure that its Affiliates conform to the same Patent-Licensing Obligations as the Entity, as if those Affiliates were bound directly.

Notifications

Each Entity must:

  1. identify a single person to serve as primary contact with the Steering Group,
  2. identify individuals who are authorized to participate in each Workstream, and
  3. notify the Steering Group if an individual’s authorization to Contribute is terminated.

Third-party beneficiaries

The intended beneficiaries of this Agreement include (but are not limited to) implementers of the WHATWG Living Standards.

Termination

An Individual or Entity may terminate Workstream Participation or this Agreement by providing written notice to the Steering Group, or the Steering Group may terminate this Agreement by providing written notice to an Individual or Entity. Termination is effective upon delivery. With respect to Invited Individuals, Workstream Participation and this Agreement shall otherwise automatically terminate upon the expiration of the term, unless extended by the Steering Group. Obligations (including but not limited to licensing obligations) incurred prior to termination do not cease. As a condition of participation in the WHATWG, each Workstream Participant agrees that no claim of any kind may arise from such removal or termination.

No Assignment

Individual may not assign this Agreement or any rights herein. Any assignment in violation of this clause shall be null and void.

Severability

In the event that any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed from this Agreement, and the remaining provisions shall remain fully operative.

Entire Agreement

This Agreement and the WHATWG Policies contain the entire agreement and understanding of the parties as to the subject matter of this Agreement, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings as to such subject matter herein.

Scope

This Agreement applies to (select one):

(To change this selection, e.g., to participate in additional Workstreams, discontinue participation in a Workstream, or switch between the "all WHATWG Workstreams, current and future" selection versus choosing individual Workstreams, notify the Steering Group using the Workstream update interface.)

Signature

If signing as an Individual

Select one:

If signing for an Entity

The person executing this Agreement represents that they are authorized to make this Agreement on behalf of the Entity identified below.

Primary Contact
Backup Contact (optional)
Contributor Management

For the purposes of easily allowing contributions from persons associated to the Entity, the WHATWG requires Entities to identify an existing GitHub organization whose members are associated with the Entity. All public members of this GitHub organization will be able to contribute on behalf of the Entity.

If you do not yet have a GitHub organization, please create one now. The free plan is perfectly sufficient.

(To change this information, e.g., to change the Primary Contact, notify the Steering Group using the Workstream update interface.)