After a year and a half of (really) hard work, the Open Web Foundation announced today the release of the Open Web Foundation Agreement (the OWFa). This is an important milestone for the organization’s work, and an invaluable resource for the community. What is the OWFa, you ask? Here’s an excellent explanation from fellow OWF Board Member, DeWitt Clinton:

This reusable agreement is designed to be easily adopted by a wide range of specification communities and organizations as an alternative to the challenging — and costly — process of negotiating new licensing agreements every time. Specifications made available under the Open Web Foundation Agreement may include everything from small ad-hoc formats sketched out among friends to large multi-corporation collaborations that ultimately grow into international recognized standards with the help of formal standards setting organizations.