Microsoft, Compaq, Digital, and Intel submit letter of protest San Francisco (09/12/97) — Officials at Sun Microsystems Inc. said today that a request by its competitors to turn over ownership of its Java development language to an international standards body is nothing but a public relations game.Sun officials declined to respond to specific issues raised in an open letter sent by Microsoft Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., and Intel Corp., to Sun yesterday. However, Sun officials said they will respond in due course to similar concerns raised by members of the International Standards Organization (ISO).“Microsoft is recognizing the handwriting on the wall and that Sun’s response to the ISO will be well received,” said George Paolini, director of corporate marketing of Sun’s JavaSoft division. “The letter is timed to coincide with the ISO meeting in Ottawa this week and Microsoft has decided to play this out in the press.” The letter, addressed to Jim Mitchell, vice president at Sun, and made public yesterday, comes as Sun prepares to resubmit a proposal to the ISO, under which Java would become an ISO-sanctioned standard. Under Sun’s plan, however, Sun would retain control of the Java trademark and over revisions to the standard, an objective opposed by other software firms.In the letter, Microsoft and the other companies urged Sun to let ISO or another international standards body take control of the maintenance and evolution of Java. In addition, the letter states that the name “Java” should be associated with the standard and that implementors who conform to the standard should be free to use it.Also, companies should have the ability to self-test their conformance with the standard, states the letter, which was signed by Robert Stearn, senior vice president at Compaq; Bill Strecker, vice president at Digital; William Swope, vice president at Intel; and Bob Muglia, vice president at Microsoft. Following a vote on Sun’s original proposal in July, Sun had 60 days to address concerns raised by ISO members. Under its original proposal, Sun tried to obtain the status of a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) submitter, which would make Sun the body that has control over the Java specification and revisions to it.Paolini also said that ISO procedures do not preclude a for-profit company from assuming PAS status and that Sun so far has kept the development of Java specifications a fast and democratic process.“All of our licensees agree that the process is open and inclusive and are commending Sun for the work it has done.” Compaq’s participation on the letter came as a particular surprise to Sun, Paolini said.“I don’t think a whole lot of Compaq’s participation here,” Paolini said. “They have not been a player in the standards work. DEC has been, but frankly all of the companies are competitors of Sun so the motive is clear here.”Sun, in Mountain View, CA, can be reached at (650) 960-1300, or on the World Wide Web at https://www.sun.com. Technology Industry