USA - The NFC Forum (www.nfc-forum.org) announced that Canon, HP, and Yahoo! JAPAN have joined the organization as Principal members. In addition, Infineon Technologies raised its level of membership from Associate to Principal member. The NFC Forum also recently welcomed 24 new Associate, Implementer, and Non-Profit members from across the NFC ecosystem.

Since its founding in 2004, the NFC Forum has drawn market-leading organizations from around the world to its membership roster as momentum builds for the adoption and implementation of NFC technology.

"Our newest Principal members span the NFC ecosystem, bringing us their perspectives as global leaders in the consumer electronics, Information Technology, semiconductor, and Internet industries," said Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum. "They, along with our new Associate, Implementer, and Non-Profit members, will contribute greatly to furthering the adoption of NFC technology and strengthening the knowledge base and impact of the NFC Forum."

Principal membership is the second-highest level of membership in the NFC Forum, with each Principal member entitled to appoint a voting representative to each of the Technical, Ecosystem, and Compliance Committees and Working Groups. Principal members may also designate individuals to run for positions leading Committees or Working Groups, and they may propose initiatives and contribute to the development of Forum deliverables. As Principal members, organizations may also participate in the NFC Forum testing and certification program using their own in-house test labs.