[p2p-research] Apache Software Foundation resigns from JCP Committee

[Samuel Rose]

quote:

Further, the project communities of the ASF, home to Apache Tomcat,
Ant, Xerces, Geronimo, Velocity and nearly a 100 mainstay java
components have implemented countless JSRs and serve on and contribute
to many of the JCPs technical expert groups.

We'd like to provide some explanation to the community as to why we're
taking this significant step.

The recent Java SE 7 vote was the last chance for the JCP EC to
demonstrate that the EC has any intent to defend the JCP as an open
specification process, and demonstrate that the letter and spirit of
the law matter.   To sum up the issues at stake in the vote, we
believe that while continuing to fail to uphold their responsibilities
under the JSPA, Oracle provided the EC with a Java SE 7 specification
request and license that are self-contradictory, severely restrict
distribution of independent implementations of the spec, and most
importantly, prohibit the distribution of independent open source
implementations of the spec.  Oracle has refused to answer any
reasonable and responsible questions from the EC regarding these
problems.

In the phrase "fail to uphold their responsibilities under the JSPA",
we are referring to Oracle's refusal to provide the ASF's Harmony
project with a TCK license for Java SE that complies with Oracle's
obligations under the JSPA as well as public promises made to the Java
community by officers of Sun Microsystems (recently acquired by
Oracle.)  This breach of the JSPA was begun by Sun Microsystems in
August of 2006 and is a policy that Oracle explicitly continues today.
 For more information on this dispute, see our open letter to Sun
Microsystems.

This vote was the only real power the Executive Committee has as the
governing body of the Java specification ecosystem, and as we
indicated previously we were looking for the EC to protect the rights
of implementers to the degree they are able, as well as preserve the
integrity of the JCP licensing structure by ensuring that JCP
specifications are able to be freely implemented and distributed.  We
don't believe this is an unreasonable position - it should be noted
that the majority of the EC members, including Oracle, have publicly
stated that restrictions on distribution such as those found in the
Java SE 7 license have no place in the JCP - and two distinguished
individual members of the EC, Doug Lea and Tim Peierls, both have
resigned in protest over the same issue.

By approving Java SE 7, the EC has failed on both counts : the members
of the EC refused to stand up for the rights of implementers, and by
accepting Oracle's TCK license terms for Java SE 7, they let the
integrity of the JCP's licensing structure be broken.

The Apache Software Foundation concludes that that JCP is not an open
specification process - that Java specifications are proprietary
technology that must be licensed directly from the spec lead under
whatever terms the spec lead chooses; that the commercial concerns of
a single entity, Oracle, will continue to seriously interfere with and
bias the transparent governance of the ecosystem;  that it is
impossible to distribute independent implementations of JSRs under
open source licenses such that users are protected from IP litigation
by expert group members or the spec lead; and finally, the EC is
unwilling or unable to assert the basic power of their role in the JCP
governance process.

In short, the EC and the Java Community Process are neither.

To that end, our representative has informed the JCP's Program
Management Office of our resignation, effective immediately.  As such,
the ASF is removing all official representatives from any and all
JSRs. In addition, we will refuse any renewal of our JCP membership
and, of course, our EC position.


https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/entry/the_asf_resigns_from_the

(thanks Rick C. Adler for sending me this link...)

-- 
--
Sam Rose
Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation
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email: samuel.rose at gmail.com
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"The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human
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