UK User Group pushes to review OOXML vote

30 June 2008

The United Kingdom Unix User Group (Ukuug) is appealing the High Court`s initial rejection to review the decision by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to vote in favour of OOXML at a recent ballot at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The High Court early this month rejected the Ukuug`s application for a Judicial Review. The Unix group last week decided to appeal that decision. The Ukuug believes that the judge was wrong in his reading of the papers. However, the group is worried that it will run short of funds to continue the legal battle.

-We are concerned about costs, the group said in a statement, especially if we should lose. BSI`s lawyers say that their bill is some 25,000 to date. This is expected to rise.

The Ukuug hopes to force BSI to reverse its vote in favor of Microsoft`s document format proposal. Submitted early last year, the controversial OOXML proposal was approved by ISO in a ballot resolution meeting last February. In the past few weeks, national standards organisations from Brazil, India, South Africa and Venezuela have issued formal appeals against the approval of OOXML. This means that formal ISO approval for OOXML will at least be delayed.

In its statement announcing the appeal, the Ukuug explains that it believes that problems in OOXML might be resolved only after a thorough and open examination of over a thousand technical and several legal issues by experts in this field from all interested stakeholders.

According to the Ukuug, only some 20 percent of issues initially found were adequately discussed at the ballot resolution meeting: OOXML is thus riddled with technical holes; no one can implement it. Fast tracking is for established tried and tested specifications that need only occasional tweaks to keep them copper bottomed.