MIPC Plugfest Overview
A primary objective of the Mobile Imaging and Printing Consortium (MIPC) is to enhance interoperability between mobile phones (with or without camera features) and other handheld mobile devices with image capture or transfer capabilities and long distance wireless connectivity (collectively, “Mobile Terminal Devices” or “MTDs”) and home printers. To help achieve this objective, the MIPC Technical Committee (TC) will hold regularly scheduled interoperability trials called “Plugfests.” These Plugfests will provide the opportunity for participating companies and individuals (each a “Participant”) to test their respective products with a broad set of devices, both released and under development. It is intended that the Plugfest will test system interoperability of MTDs, MTD applications and printing devices.
Plugfests are the only interoperability test opportunities being developed and deployed by MIPC. All device testing is the responsibility of the Participants. This does not preclude Participants from working together to test compatibility. Participation in Plugfests does not give Participants the right to claim any official or unofficial compliance or compatibility with MIPC guidelines or endorsement by MIPC or other Participants.
Overview
Each Plugfest is an event that provides an opportunity for
Participants to test the interoperability of their products with products of
other Participants. All testing will be done in pair-wise private meetings,
the results of which are to be used only by the two Participants involved
and are not to be disclosed outside of their respective Participant
companies. To ensure efficient use of Plugfest time, Participants are
strongly encouraged to bring only well tested products to each Plugfest.
There will be limited time allocated for each pair of products being tested,
so most failures will need to be followed up outside of the Plugfest.
In addition to products brought by Participants for testing at a particular
Plugfest, a suite of previously tested MIPC member products may also be
available. No tests are provided by MIPC and each Plugfest participant is
responsible for providing its own test cases.
Coordination
Plugfests are held three times each year. The TC annually elects a
Plugfest Coordinator to coordinate each year’s Plugfests. Each Plugfest
Coordinator begins his or her term thirty days after the previous September
Plugfest. The Plugfest Coordinator establishes the fee structure for
each Plugfest for the year, manages the available funds, coordinates the
participant registration process, and arranges for baseline product
suites.
Additionally, each Plugfest Coordinator appoints three Event Coordinators, one for each scheduled Plugfest for the year. Each Event Coordinator secures and manages local logistics for his or her Plugfest.
Logistics
Plugfest locations rotate between Europe, US and Asia each year. Each
Plugfest Coordinator, working with the Event coordinators, chooses the three
Plugfest locations and dates for the year.
Participation Eligibility
Plugfests are open to all companies regardless of their membership
in MIPC. Interested Plugfest participants are required to register through
the official MIPC website. Each Test Entry from a company will have one
lead participant register the Test Entry as part of their
registration. The Test Entry details to submit include the
type (e.g., MTD, printer) of product or products to test, as well as
transport capabilities to be tested (e.g., Bluetooth), no later than
twenty-one days before the event.
Fees
Each Plugfest is self-funded and entry fees are established by the Plugfest
Coordinator working with MIPC and posted on the MIPC website.
Plugfest Confidentiality
After each Plugfest, MIPC will publish a list of the Participants and the
aggregate number of devices tested (but not the number of devices tested on
a per company basis) at that Plugfest. MIPC expects to publish this
information to its website within thirty days after the completion of each
Plugfest.
Thirty days after completion of each Plugfest, each Participant may publicly identify which of its products were tested at that Plugfest.
All information and materials relating specifically to the Plugfest, including the details of Plugfest tests and testing results, will be confidential and subject to the terms of a Plugfest Participant Nondisclosure Agreement that each Participant must execute without modification in order to participate in each Plugfest (the "Plugfest Agreement"). The Plugfest Agreement does not, however, protect any products, materials or proprietary or confidential information that Participants may choose to disclose at the Plugfest. Those Participants planning to disclose any such products, materials or proprietary or confidential information at the Plugfest should consider whether a separate agreement protecting such disclosures would be appropriate.