In a move that will put it head to head with BEA and IBM, JBoss Group is working on Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) certification of its open source application server.

A new JBoss J2EE Founders Programme has been created to provide funding and manpower to complete the process, with heavyweight software and middleware companies assisting.

The move follows Sun's agreement to license its J2EE 1.4 Compatibility Test Suite - a package of tests, tools and documentation that provides a standard way of testing compliance.

As reported by vnunet.com in September, protracted negotiations with Sun over the cost of gaining compliance had been holding up the certification process.

J2EE certification and big-name backing will strengthen the free-of-charge JBoss application server's credibility, which could pose a real challenge to BEA WebLogic and IBM WebSphere.

Meanwhile, the company this week said it would indemnify its users in light of SCO Group's challenge to open source software.

Under the terms of the JBoss Production Support Agreement, the company said that, subject to certain conditions and limitations, it would "defend any threatened or pending legal action in alleging that JBoss infringes a valid patent or copyright".

JBoss boasts more than four million downloads since its launch in 2001. Well-known users include BASF, MCI and Lastminute.com.