INCITS Executive Board to vote on "Approval with comments"

The INCITS executive board has been meeting this week, and today they decided to issue a ballot for "Approval with comments." They'll reach a decision within the executive board on this proposed position by mid-August, which allows plenty of time for subsequent discussion or another vote if needed before the final US position is due on September 2.

As Tom Robertson, Microsoft's GM of Interoperability and Standards, said today:

"The decision by the INCITS Executive Board to issue a ballot of “yes” with comments shows positive momentum behind ISO/IEC ratification of Open XML. It reflects the importance of allowing users to choose the format that best meets their needs, and the fact that innovation and evolution will take place over time. We respect the INCITS process and look forward to working within it over the coming weeks."

Note that the "Approval with comments" position would include all of the comments submitted to V1, including both the processed and unprocessed comments, as well as the comments submitted through the public INCITS web site.