International Standards Organization (ISO)

Popular name for International Organization For Standardization (IOS), a voluntary, non-treaty federation of standards setting bodies of some 130 countries. Founded in 1946-47 in Geneva as a UN agency, it promotes development of standardization and related activities to facilitate international trade in goods and services, and cooperation on economic, intellectual, scientific, and technological aspects. ISO covers standardization in all fields including computers and data communications, but excluding electrical and electronic engineering (governed by the International Electrotechnical Commission or IEC) and telecommunications (governed by International Telecommunications Union's Telecommunications Standards Sector or ITU-TSS). See also ISO 9000 Series and ISO 14000 Series.