Commons Organizations Ontology
type: Ontology
abstract: This ontology defines high-level concepts for organizations, legal entities, and related terms, such as organization membership. It is purposefully underspecified to facilitate mapping to specific organization ontologies, such as the W3C organization ontology, organization from a business (BMM or BPMN) perspective, organization from a records management (RMS) and provenance (PPMN) perspective, and to other models describing organizations.
license: Copyright (c) 2013-2024 EDM Council, Inc. Copyright (c) 2013-2024 Object Management Group, Inc. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. See https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT.
imports: AnnotationVocabulary
imports: Collections
imports: ContextualDesignators
imports: Designators
imports: Locations
imports: PartiesAndSituations
imports: RolesAndCompositions
version IRI: Organizations
note: This ontology is derived, in part, from the Financial Industry Business Ontology (FIBO) Organizations, Formal Organizations, and Legal Persons ontologies.
copyright: Copyright (c) 2013-2024 EDM Council, Inc.
copyright: Copyright (c) 2013-2024 Object Management Group, Inc.

capability
type: Class
definition: ability to perform a specific function or achieve a particular outcome
adapted from: Business Architecture Core Metamodel, https://www.omg.org/spec/BACM
adapted from: The TOGAF Standard, https://pubs.opengroup.org/togaf-standard/business-architecture/business-capability-planning.html
adapted from: Value Delivery Modeling Language Specification, https://www.omg.org/spec/VDML
explanatory note: Capabilities are described in terms of outcomes as well as the roles involved in achieving those outcomes. The ability for an organization to perform or provide some capability may involve people with particular skills and knowledge, intellectual property, defined practices, operating facilities, tools and equipment.

formal organization
type: Class
subclass of: organization
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is domiciled in
  on class: GeopoliticalEntity
  min qualified cardinality: 0
label: formal organisation
disjoint with: informal organization
definition: organization that is recognized in some legal jurisdiction, with associated rights and responsibilities
example: Examples include a corporation, charity, government or church.
adapted from: https://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-org/#class-formalorganization

informal organization
type: Class
subclass of: organization
label: informal organisation
definition: group of individuals who come together for a common purpose without forming a legal entity
explanatory note: A bridge club with officers and a bank account can be classified as an informal organization, but it depends on how the club is structured and whether it has taken steps to formalize its existence. If the bridge club has officers and a bank account but has not incorporated or registered as a legal entity (like a nonprofit organization or a corporation), it would be considered an informal organization. The officers manage the club's affairs, and the bank account is likely opened under the names of the officers or with the designation 'on behalf of the bridge club'.
explanatory note: There is usually no formal registration with governmental authorities, and the group operates based on mutual agreement among its members rather than a formal legal structure.

legal entity
type: Class
subclass of: formal organization
subclass of: legal person
definition: legal person that is a partnership, corporation, or other organization having the capacity to negotiate contracts, assume financial obligations, and pay off debts, organized under the laws of some jurisdiction
scope note: The term 'legal entity' includes, but is not limited to, unique parties that are legally or financially responsible for the performance of financial transactions or have the legal right in their jurisdiction to enter independently into legal contracts, regardless of whether they are incorporated or constituted in some other way (e.g. trust, partnership, contractual). It excludes natural persons, but includes governmental organizations and supranationals.
adapted from: ISO 17442, Financial services - Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), first edition, 2012-06-01, section 3.1
synonym: artificial person
synonym: juridical entity
synonym: juridical person
synonym: juristic person

legal person
type: Class
subclass of: Party
definition: party that is recognized as having rights and obligations under the law, including but not limited to the right to sue and be sued, enter into contracts, own property, and incur financial and other obligations
explanatory note: To have legal personality means to be capable of having legal rights and duties within a certain legal system, such as to enter into contracts, sue, and be sued. Legal personality is a prerequisite to legal capacity, the ability of any legal person to amend (enter into, transfer, etc.) rights and obligations.

member-bearing organization
type: Class
subclass of: PartyRole
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: isPlayedBy
  some values from: Restriction
    on property: hasMember
    some values from: Party
definition: role of a group or organization that has members that are people or other organizations

membership
type: Class
subclass of: Situation
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has membership
  some values from: member-bearing organization
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: has organization member
  some values from: organization member
definition: situation, corresponding to an n-ary relation, in which some group or organization has at least one member (person or organization) for some period of time

organization
type: Class
subclass of: Party
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: hasPart
  all values from: organization
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: hasMember
  all values from: Party
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: hasName
  on class: organization name
  min qualified cardinality: 0
label: organisation
definition: framework of authority within which a person, persons, or groups of people act, or are designated to act, towards some purpose, such as to meet a need or pursue collective goals
example: This may be a business entity, government, international organization, not-for-profit, academic institution, or other unincorporated and/or informal social organization.
adapted from: ISO/IEC 6523-1:1998 Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes, https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:6523:-1:ed-1:v1:en

organization identification scheme
type: Class
subclass of: IdentificationScheme
definition: identification scheme dedicated to the unique identification of organizations
adapted from: ISO/IEC 6523-1:1998 Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes, https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:6523:-1:ed-1:v1:en

organization identifier
type: Class
subclass of: Identifier
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: isMemberOf
  on class: organization identification scheme
  qualified cardinality: 1
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: identifies
  some values from: organization
label: organisation identifier
definition: identifier assigned to an organization within an organization identification scheme, and unique within that scheme
adapted from: ISO/IEC 6523-1:1998 Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes, https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:6523:-1:ed-1:v1:en

organization member
type: Class
subclass of: PartyRole
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: isPlayedBy
  some values from: Restriction
    on property: isMemberOf
    all values from: organization
label: organisation member
definition: party (person or organization) that has a membership role with respect to some organization

organization name
type: Class
subclass of: ContextualName
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: isNameOf
  on class: organization
  min qualified cardinality: 0
label: organisation name
definition: designation by which some organization is known in some context

organization sub-unit identifier
type: Class
subclass of: Identifier
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: identifies
  some values from: organizational sub-unit
label: organisation sub-unit identifier
definition: identifier allocated to a particular organizational sub-unit
abbreviation: OPI
adapted from: ISO/IEC 6523-1:1998 Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes, https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:6523:-1:ed-1:v1:en
synonym: organization part identifier

organizational sub-unit
type: Class
subclass of: organization
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: isPartOf
  all values from: organization
label: organisational sub-unit
definition: any department or other entity within a larger organization that only has full recognition within the context of that organization, but requires identification for some purpose
adapted from: ISO/IEC 6523-1:1998 Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes, https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:6523:-1:ed-1:v1:en
explanatory note: In other words, it is not a legal entity in its own right.
synonym: organization part

service
type: Class
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: provides
  on class: capability
  min qualified cardinality: 0
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: is provided by
  some values from: service provider
definition: intangible activity performed by some party for the benefit of another party
example: Services include intangible products, such as accounting, banking, cleaning, consultancy, education, insurance, expertise, medical treatment, or transportation services.
explanatory note: Sometimes services are difficult to identify because they are closely associated with a good; such as the combination of a diagnosis with the administration of a medicine. No transfer of possession or ownership takes place when services are sold, and they (1) cannot be stored or transported, (2) are instantly perishable, and (3) come into existence at the time they are bought and consumed.
explanatory note: The OECD defines services as outputs produced to order and which cannot be traded separately from their production; ownership rights cannot be established over services and by the time their production is completed they must have been provided to the consumers. As an exception to this rule there is a group of industries, generally classified as service industries, some of whose outputs have characteristics of goods, i.e. those concerned with the provision, storage, communication and dissemination of information, advice and entertainment in the broadest sense of those terms; the products of these industries, where ownership rights can be established, may be classified either as goods or services depending on the medium by which these outputs are supplied.

service provider
type: Class
subclass of: AgentRole
subclass of: FunctionalRole
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: provides
  some values from: service
definition: role of an agent that provides some service, including but not limited to commercial or professional services
example: Example services may include consulting, financial, legal, real estate, education, communications, registration, regulatory, manufacturing, storage, processing, or other services.

designates
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasRelatedPartyRole
domain: PartyRole
range: PartyRole
definition: appoints someone officially
explanatory note: This property is intended to cover assigning a job or role to someone, selecting or designating someone to fill an office or a position, and fixing or setting by authority or by mutual agreement.

has membership
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasActor
domain: membership
range: member-bearing organization
inverse of: is membership party in
definition: identifies the organization acting in the role of having members in an organizational membership situation

has organization member
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasUndergoer
domain: membership
range: organization member
inverse of: is organization member
definition: indicates the party acting in the role of the member in an organizational membership situation

has sub-unit
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasPart
domain: organization
range: organizational sub-unit
inverse of: is sub-unit of
definition: relates an organization to a part of that organization

has URL
type: DatatypeProperty
range: anyURI
definition: links something to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a method for retrieving it
synonym: has uniform resource locator

has website
type: DatatypeProperty
sub property of: has URL
range: anyURI
definition: links something to a page or set of related web pages located under a single domain name, typically produced by a single person or organization
explanatory note: Web Design and Applications involve the standards for building and Rendering Web pages, including HTML, CSS, SVG, device APIs, and other technologies for Web Applications ('WebApps'). HTML (the Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are two of the core technologies for building Web pages. HTML provides the structure of the page, CSS the (visual and aural) layout, for a variety of devices and services.

is designated by
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasRelatedPartyRole
domain: PartyRole
range: PartyRole
inverse of: designates
definition: indicates the role of the party that has assigned or appointed someone to an office or position

is domiciled in
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasRegion
domain: formal organization
range: GeopoliticalEntity
definition: indicates the principal place where an entity conducts business within some country, such as where its headquarters is located
explanatory note: Corporate domicile refers to a place where a company's affairs are discharged. It is also typically the legal home of a corporation within a country because the place is considered by law as the center of corporate affairs. In cases where a business has incorporated in one location for convenience, such as for taxation, legal, or regulatory purposes, but operates primarily in one or more other locations, domicile refers to the operational location(s) rather than legal location. Many companies in the US have incorporated in the State of Delaware, for example, but do not have operational facilities in Delaware (or only have small offices there).

is managed by
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: hasPartyRole
range: PartyRole
definition: indicates the role of a party that directs the affairs or administration of something or someone

is membership party in
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: actsIn
domain: member-bearing organization
range: membership
definition: indicates the membership situation in which the party plays the role of having members

is organization member
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: undergoes
domain: organization member
range: membership
definition: indicates the context of membership in which the party plays the role of an organization member

is provided by
type: ObjectProperty
inverse of: provides
definition: is made available by

is provided to
type: ObjectProperty
definition: is made available to

is sub-unit of
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: isPartOf
domain: organizational sub-unit
range: organization
definition: relates a part of an organization to the larger entity

manages
type: ObjectProperty
sub property of: isRoleIn
domain: PartyRole
inverse of: is managed by
definition: relates a party role to something or someone that it directs or administers in some way

provides
type: ObjectProperty
definition: makes available