TYPO3 Association
TYPO3 announced today the creation of a Switzerland Typo3 Association which will serve as a holding organization which will help set direction for the product and handle financial and legal matters. TYPO3 originator, Kasper Skårhøj, heads the Association.
According the website, the TYPO3 Association was first founded in Fall of 2004. It seems to be a slight variation on a trend of Open Source projects developing a foundation (such as the Apache Software Foundation and the Plone Foundation) to handle things like money and legal liability. TYPO3'S Association appears to be organized more as a membership organization. There are Active Members, who regularly contribute code, and Supporting Members (either companies or individuals), who pay membership fees. Active Members have the right to vote on matters. Supporting membership seems to be more of a vehicle for sponsorhsip.
The first international TYPO3 conference (TYCON3) will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany in September 2005. Two of the key initiatives that the TYPO3 Association will introduce are a certification program for individuals and developers, and adapting TYPO3 to international standards.
TYPO3 has long been a well organized and very professional project. It seems like the Association helps take TYPO3 a little farther by creating a more official legal entity behind the project.