Corporate Shenanigans Mike Milinkovich Executive Director Eclipse Foundation @mmilinkov FOSDEM 4-FEB-2017
Corporate Shenanigans
Mike MilinkovichExecutive DirectorEclipse Foundation@mmilinkov
FOSDEM4-FEB-2017
My Hats
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 2
Agenda
• Open source capture strategies• Consortia shenanigans
• Some helpful hacks
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 3
“Open Source Capture”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 4
How the Game is Played
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 5
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 6
Trademarks
CertificationPatents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
I’m picking on Java here because I know it
best….but a similar analysis can be done
with Android, and other “open” platforms
How the Game is Played
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 7
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
SpecificationFree and open source people focus here
How the Game is Played
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 8
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
Control of the trademark is the most important and
most commonly over-looked aspect of platform dominance
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 9
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
Code is always free and easy to get for
developers.
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 10
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
There is actually two sources of code: open source and
proprietary.99.8% the same, but very different terms
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 11
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
The proprietary license is free for use on a “general purpose computer”, but
requires a royalty-bearing license if bundled with
hardware.
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 12
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
The open source code is available only as source code, not binary. If you want to run it, you must
build it yourself (inconvenient)
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 13
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
The platform is “open” as it is maintained at OpenJDK under GPL+CE with developers from
Oracle (Sun), IBM, Red Hat, SAP, ….
Everyone must agree to give joint ownership of all contributions to Sun
(now Oracle).
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 14
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
Specifications are created by the “Java Community Process”, which is a division of
Sun (now Oracle)
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 15
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
Each Spec must provide a:1. spec2. reference
implementation3. TCKEach with its own license!
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 16
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
Patents are pooled during the
specification process at the JCP
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 17
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
The license to the TCK binds the
implementer to a long list of business terms
which are in SunOracle’s favour.
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 18
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
You only get a license to the patents once you pass the TCK
How the Game is Played: Java & Sun
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 19
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
You cannot use the trademarks until you
pass the TCK. Implementing a Java spec without the TCK
could make you a target for a lawsuit.
Summary
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 20
Trademarks
Certification Patents
Implementation(Code)
Specification
● A project is not completely free unless *all* of it is free, including copyright, patent, trademarks and governance
● Developers are easily fooled by easily acquirable software.
Agenda
• Open source capture strategies• Consortia shenanigans
• Some helpful hacks
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 21
Governance is Good
Open Source Consortia Today
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 23
...and many more….
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participant(s). It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations more credibility by withholding information about the source's financial connection. The term astroturfing is a derivation of AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass, a play on the word "grassroots." The implication behind the use of the term is that there are no "true" or "natural" grassroots, but rather "fake" or "artificial" support…
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 24
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
“Founder” seats“The Governing Board manages the structure and operation of the OpenJDK Community.
• The Governing Board consists of five Contributors:
• The Chair, appointed by Oracle;
• The Vice-Chair, appointed by IBM;
• The OpenJDK Lead, appointed by Oracle; and
• Two At-Large Members, nominated and elected as described below.”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 25
http://openjdk.java.net/bylaws#_9
Extra Votes
“The Platinum Director appointed by Pivotal (“Pivotal Director”) shall have five (5) votes on any matter submitted to a vote of the Board.”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 26
https://www.cloudfoundry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Current-CFF-Bylaws.pdf
Affiliate Gerrymandering
“At no time may a Member and its Affiliates have more than one Director who is an employee, officer, director, or consultant of that Member, except that Pivotal, EMC, and VMware, though Affiliates, shall each have one (1) Director on the Board).”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 27
https://www.cloudfoundry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Current-CFF-Bylaws.pdf
Flat Fees for Board Seats
“…the Platinum Members each contribute $500k USD per year to the foundation and must also have the equivalent of 2 full time employees contributing to OpenStack.”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 28
https://www.openstack.org/join/
Trademark Ownership
• For an open source project to be truly independent, its trademarks must not be owned by any for-profit entity– “…we regret that Docker does not permit the trademark
Docker® to be used as the first word in any product or project name.” (private email to me)
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 29
“Helpful Hacks”
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 30
Committers are Members
• Trade associations are by definition responsible for acting in the interests of their members
• Make your development community Members, and ensure that they have a significant role in governance
• Interesting things happen when Members == Community
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 31
Governance Diversity
• Variable due structure for all classes of members– Ensures a range of company sizes in all membership tiers
• Guaranteed seats for Committer and other(smaller) member types
• Elected annually– Term limits?
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 32
Conclusions
• Pay attention to the full range of mechanisms by which community capture can occur
• It is definitely possible to have a happy marriage of open source projects and consortia– Requires careful attention to details, as people and
companies will try to seek control points
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 33
Thank You!
Questions?
[email protected]@mmilinkov
4-Feb-2017 Copyright (c) 2017, Eclipse Foundation, Inc. Made available under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 34