# The standard

bitmark is an open standard. The [bitmark Association](https://www.bitmark-association.org),
a non-profit association with its seat in Zurich, governs the language; its
members and working groups shape it.

## Who does what

- **The language**, with its bit types, tags, cards and rules, is defined by
  the bitmark Association. These docs are its reference.
- **The reference parser** is offered by Get More Brain for the community, as
  open source under the ISC licence; see [The parser](https://docs.bitmark-association.org/concepts/parser.md).
  Where a question is open, its behaviour decides, and these docs are built
  from its releases.
- **Other implementations** in tools and platforms are welcome.

## How the standard changes

A change starts as a proposal in the public
[bitmark-improvement-proposals](https://github.com/bitmark-standard/bitmark-improvement-proposals)
repository, usually prepared by a working group. It becomes part of the
standard once two independent implementations support it. Pages about
features that are proposed but not yet in a released parser say so under
their title.

## Working groups

Each working group owns one part of the standard: a section of
[the bit passport](https://docs.bitmark-association.org/concepts/bit-passport.md), part of the core, or the
vocabulary of one field.

| Group | Owns | Part |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rights & Licensing Committee | Rights, licences and what AI may do with the content | Passport |
| Glass Box | Transparency under the EU AI Act | Passport |
| a11y | The accessibility claim in the passport and the evidence in every bit | Passport and core |
| Paper Trail | Origin, editions and translations | Passport |
| Who Reads This? | Audience: language, age, level | Passport |
| WG-ID | Identity, the Rosetta Map and versions | Core |
| The Shall Society | Norms and standards: provisions, structure, national deviations | Field vocabulary |
| Level 4 | SMART standards and machine-interpretable content | Field vocabulary |
| Pinpoint | Legal and citable content | Field vocabulary |
| Methods & Materials | Scientific papers | Field vocabulary |
| Docs-as-Code | Technical documentation | Field vocabulary |
| Quiz Night | Learning and quizzes | Field vocabulary |

Anyone can take part:
[join a working group](https://www.bitmark-association.org/memberships)
through the bitmark Association.