ILDA's power and limits as a trade association

This webpage gives information about ILDA's power and limits with regard to "certifying" Members or promising any level of professionalism from Members.

What ILDA is: a trade association

Since it was founded in 1986, ILDA has been a trade association. This means it is a group of companies and individuals, who have a common interest -- laser shows and displays. The Members have banded together for some common goals and activities. A list is here.

What ILDA is not: a professional association

ILDA is not a professional association.

Professional associations are for doctors, lawyers, architects and others who have passed tests or otherwise proven their knowledge in an area. Some of these groups actually create and administer the tests; other associations are for those who have already passed the tests.

However, there are no accreditation tests for laserists or laser show companies. (The closest to any type of approval is when a government requires a variance or similar pre-approval for laser equipment and/or for a laser show. Of course, this does not say anything about the quality or expertise of the company applying for the variance.)

How a company or person becomes an ILDA Member

To be a Member of ILDA, two things are required:

1. Fill out a Membership Application and pay annual dues and

2. Agree to be bound by the ILDA Code of Ethics and by extension, the Code of Business Practice.

Very shortly in August 2008, there will be a third requirement:

3. Members who do laser shows will be required to sign a Statement of Affirmation that they have some basic laser show safety knowledge.

Can't ILDA pre-screen members?

Some people ask why ILDA can't further restrict membership. They want ILDA to be like a private club or a fraternal association with pre-screened Members.

The short answer is that it is illegal for a trade association to allow existing Members to approve or "blackball" prospective members. For a trade association, this violates anti-competitive (antitrust) laws. These laws exist not only in the U.S., where ILDA is incorporated, but also in other areas such as the U.K. and the European Union.

Details: U.K. Office of Fair Trading and E.U. Treaty of Rome Article 81: "Rules of admission as a member of an association of undertakings should be transparent, proportionate, non-discriminatory and based on objective standards." Also, "Discriminative membership rules—which restrict access to the association or prohibit member companies' association in alternative organizations, or restrict members from terminating their membership—may lead to competition concerns, because membership in a trade association may be essential for a company to compete on a specific market. International trade associations must be aware that the European Commission can fine them up to 100 percent of the total turnover generated by the association in the previous financial year for a breach of competition law. "

Why this is important

What this means is that ILDA is a trade association of independent companies interested in laser shows and displays. ILDA does not pre-screen companies. ILDA cannot promise or prove that its Members have a certain level of knowledge, beyond the Statement of Affirmation.

ILDA can promise that if there is a problem with a Member, and a complaint is filed with the Ethics Committee, then we will try to resolve the problem. This alone is a good reason to choose an ILDA Member over a non-Member.

What ILDA is planning

As of August 2008, ILDA is considering accreditation and/or certification in three areas:

1. Member companies  Accreditation that they have had a certain level of activity in laser displays. There will be multiple factors -- number of shows, size of shows, safety knowledge, etc. -- leading to a single accreditation such as "ILDA Professional"

2. Individuals  Accreditation similar to the above.

3. Equipment  Certification that equipment meets specified standards and can interoperate with other certified equipment.

Association accreditation and certification is a complex area. There is an entire book devoted to the legal aspects of doing this correctly. It is also complex to tailor the requirements so they are fair -- not too hard to acquire, and not too easy. Finally, to develop these programs requires the volunteer efforts of ILDA Members, many of whom are busy with their own businesses.

For these reasons, it will take time to develop these programs.

(Also, it should also be noted that, even with these programs, ILDA still would not be able to absolutely guarantee the performance of a show or a piece of equipment. Accreditation and certification programs simply make it more likely that the show or equipment will perform satisfactorily.)

Summary

ILDA remains a trade association. We welcome everyone with an interest in laser shows and displays. We cannot guarantee the quality of any given Member. We do not supervise shows or equipment. We believe our Members all have a basic knowledge of important safety concepts, but ILDA cannot say for certain that a given show is safe or meets all legal requirements.

We are working on accreditation programs to help identify the most professional ILDA Members, and the most compatible equipment.

In the meantime, the Code of Ethics and the Code of Business Practice remain a strong reason to prefer ILDA Members over non-members.