Apache steps down from Java leadership post

The Apache Foundation is stepping down from the Java SE/EE Executive Committee following a vote by the Java Community Process to approve Java SE 7.

Apache had previously stated that it would leave the committee if Java SE 7 was passed with restrictions that prevent the group's Project Harmony from being licensed.

The issue dates back to Sun Microsystems' handling of Java before the company was acquired by Oracle. The group had long criticised Sun for its refusal to grant the project a Technology Compatibility Kit licence.

Apache argues that the restrictions on the licensing harm its own efforts to the benefit of Sun's and later Oracle's. As such, the Apache Foundation is accusing Oracle of violating the Java Specification Participation Agreement.

"The Apache Software Foundation concludes 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; and that the commercial concerns of a single entity, Oracle, will continue to seriously interfere with and bias the transparent governance of the ecosystem," the group said in a blog post.