North Grafton, MA (April 12, 2004) -- In a dramatic move signaling its dedication to the openness of the Modbus protocol, Schneider Electric has transferred its copyright in the protocol to Modbus-IDA, a nonprofit organization formed in 2002 to advance industrial communications. Modbus was originally developed by Modicon, which later became part of Schneider Automation, in 1979 and is now the most popular industrial protocol in the world.The agreement which was signed by Schneider Automation, Inc., and Ken Crater, President of Modbus-IDA, transferred the protocol to the organization, including the entire “right, title and interest” in the protocol copyright on April 12th, and publicly announced at the Hanover Fair trade show in Germany.According to Crater, “This transfer establishes a milestone in the inevitable migration of our industry toward open protocols. It’s only fitting that the most widely implemented protocol on the industrial landscape is now in the hands of a nonprofit organization committed to its further proliferation and evolution.” Crater announced the organization’s intention to pursue international standardization for the protocol in the near future.Jean-Jacques Poubeau, VP of Schneider Electric stated that “By transferring the Modbus protocol rights to Modbus-IDA, a non profit and independent organization, Schneider Electric demonstrates its willingness to move toward really open systems and architectures based on open standards and vendor-independent protocols. The association of Modbus protocol with a standard Ethernet TCP-IP stack makes available the first really open and vendor independent Industrial Ethernet solution.”Modbus-IDA, the international organization for suppliers, implementers and users of the Modbus protocol and its variants, is headquartered at 37 Wheeler Rd., North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA. Additional information may be found on the organization's website at www.modbus-ida.org.Schneider ElectricSchneider Electric is the world’s Power & Control specialist. Through its world-class brands, Merlin Gerin, Square D and Telemecanique, Schneider Electric anticipates and satisfies its customers’ requirements in the residential, buildings, industry, energy and infrastructure markets. With 74,300 employees, Schneider Electric generated sales of EUR 8.8 billion in 2003 through 13,000 sales outlets in 130 countries.
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