About ODVA
Founded in 1995, ODVA is a global association whose members comprise the world’s leading automation companies. ODVA’s mission is to advance open, interoperable information and communication technologies in industrial automation. ODVA recognizes its media independent network protocol, the Common Industrial Protocol or “CIP” — and the network adaptations of CIP — EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, and others — as its core technology and the primary common interest of its membership. For future interoperability of production systems and the integration of the production systems with other systems, ODVA embraces the adoption of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and standard, unmodified Internet and Ethernet technologies as a guiding principle wherever possible. This principle is exemplified by EtherNet/IP — the world’s number one industrial Ethernet network.
Legal Structure
ODVA is a trade and standards development organization consisting of member companies. No person or entity owns ODVA. ODVA directs its activities to promote the common interest of its members and not for the benefit of any particular member and, moreover, is required to do so by law because it is recognized by the United States Department of Treasury as a 501(c)6 business league. To qualify for membership, a company must manufacture, or exhibit well-documented plans to manufacture, hardware and/or software products that integrate technologies of ODVA or are designed to enhance the implementation, operation and/or support of hardware and/or software products that integrate technologies of ODVA in a multi-vendor systems environment.
Because ODVA’s members are competitors, ODVA takes measures to ensure that its activities are carried out in a manner that complies with antitrust and competition laws as they pertain to trade and standards development organizations. ODVA can provide this legal framework because governments around the world have recognized standards development as a pro-competitive activity that benefits industry overall. To ensure that the intellectual property created through the collaboration of its members remains pro-competitive, ODVA strives to produce technical specifications that are vendor-neutral, open, and vibrant, while at the same time recognizing and protecting the legitimate intellectual property rights of its Members.