JCP Participation: Open to Everyone

The JCP gives you a chance to have your own work become an official component of the Java platform and to offer suggestions for improving and growing the technology. Either way, everyone in the Java community benefits from your participation. That's one of the reasons the JCP is open to everyone.

Observer Registered user Associate Member Partner Member Full Member

Helpful resources

JCP Joining Process

Participate in the JCP

Anyone can participate in the JCP at a variety of levels, from observing activity to joining as a Member and helping lead specifications.

Observer

Anyone with an internet connection can review and comment on:

All specifications developed using the JCP (Early Draft Reviews, Public Review Drafts, Proposed Final Drafts, Final Releases)
All proposals for new or revised specifications (JSR Reviews)
All proposed error corrections and changes to existing specifications (Maintenance Review Drafts)
All Expert Group communications for JCP 2.8 and above JSRs
A public Issue Tracker for all JCP 2.8 and above JSRs
A public archive of all working documents for JCP 2.8 and above JSRs

Registered user

An Observer becomes a registered user by registering an account on jcp.org. Registered users retain all Observer privileges and can also create a watch list of JSRs, apply to become a Member of the JCP, nominate to participate on a JSR as an Expert Group Member, and/or nominate to participate on a JSR as a Contributor.

More details

There are three types of Membership in the JCP that registered users may apply to become: Associate Members, Partner Members, and JCP Members. Each applies to a particular type of participation, and is described below.

JCP Membership

There are three types of JCP Membership. If a person wishes to participate under more than one Membership, each Membership requires the use of a distinct user account/registration.

Associate Member
Partner Member
Full Member

Associate Member

Associate Members are individuals who wish to be listed as Contributors to one or more JSRs, but who sign the Associate Membership Agreement rather than the Java Specification Participation Agreement.

Associate Members can be Contributors to JSRs' Expert Groups, can attend JCP Member events, and can vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the two Associate seats. These privileges are displayed in the Membership Classes chart.

Partner Member

Partner Members are Java user groups and other non-profit organizations who wish to promote Java and encourage developer participation in JCP activities. Partner Members sign the Partner Membership Agreement rather than the Java Specification Participation Agreement.

More details

Partner Members can serve on the Executive Committee, can attend JCP Member events, and can vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the ratified and elected seats. These privileges are displayed in the Membership Classes chart.

Registered users who wish to represent an existing Partner Member should request to be associated with that Partner Membership: log in, click "My Profile," then click "request Member association." On the resulting form, select your organization from the list and click "submit." Once the Partner Member confirms it, your account will be given Partner Member privileges.

Full Member

Full Members are organizations or individuals who sign the Java Specification Participation Agreement. Full Members can serve on the Executive Committee, vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the ratified and elected seats, can be listed as Contributors to JSRs, can serve on JSRs' Expert Groups, can attend JCP Member events, and can lead JSRs.

Representing a Full Member

Registered users who wish to represent their Full Member employers should request to be associated with that Full Membership: log in, click "My Profile," then click "request Member association." On the resulting form, select your organization from the list and click "submit." Once the Full Member confirms it, your account will be given Full Member privileges.

If you are an individual Full Member and you wish to instead represent your Full Member employer, you need to first register a new account on jcp.org, using the e-mail address associated with the employer. Then you can follow the same process as for registered users in the previous paragraph. In this case, please also send mail to admin@jcp.org with the subject line "Replace individual membership with [name of employer]'s membership."

JCP Member Roles

There are no fees for JCP Membership. JCP Members can participate in a variety of roles depending on their interests and responsibilities.

Contributor

Any Associate Member or Full Member can nominate a person to be a Contributor on a JSR's Expert Groups. A Contributor is publicly recognized as having made contributions to a JSR.

Expert Group member

Any Full Member can nominate a Member Representative to serve on one of the Expert Groups that write Java specifications.

Actively shape the content and direction of new and revised Java specifications (Expert Group)
Review comments from Members and the Public and use them to improve the quality of a specification (Community Review, Public Review)
Assume responsibility for maintaining a specification after it is written, taking on the Maintenance Lead role (Maintenance Lead)

Specification Lead

Any Full Member can submit a proposal for a new JSR. Once the JSR is approved by the Executive Committee, the Member begins to lead the JSR, with one or more representatives of that Member acting as Specification Lead(s).

Responsibilities

Choose the other Members of the Expert Group
Guide the work of the Expert Group on the content and direction of the Java specification
Provide the Reference Implementation for the JSR
Complete the Technology Compatibility Kit
Usually become the Maintenance Lead of JSRs they direct to Final Release
Produce the milestones of the JSR to be posted on jcp.org

Executive Committee Member

Any Full Member or Partner Member can nominate itself for the annual election to serve on the Executive Committee. The EC Members guide the evolution of the Java technologies and represent a cross-section of both major stakeholders and other members of the Java Community.

Review and vote to approve or reject new JSR proposals
Review and vote on Public Review drafts, Final Approval Ballots, and Maintenance Reviews
Review and provide guidance on licensing terms of JSRs
Decide appeals of first-level TCK test challenges
Decide when JSRs that have not made sufficient progress should be withdrawn
Collaborate on revisions to the JCP and the JSPA

Important: 3 JCP versions and 2 agreements

Depending on the JSRs that you plan to participate in there are two different agreements that you need to sign. The so-called JSPA 2 is for submitting your JSR proposals and for participating in JSRs that use JCP 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8-2.10. The so-called JSPA 1 is for participation in JSRs that use JCP 1.0 or 2.1. You can request this document by contacting the PMO.

Note that JCP 2.8 and above JSRs are required to operate in a fairly different and distinct manner from earlier JSRs, both in terms of transparency but also in terms of ballot timing and the operation of the Executive Committee. For an overview of JCP 2.8 and above changes, please see the section of the Spec Lead Guide that talks about JCP 2.8 and above.

Participation in the JCP by Key Events

Different participation levels provide different opportunities to engage with the JCP program.

Key Event	Observer	Registered User	Associate Member	Partner Member	Full Member
Review JSRs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Review specification drafts	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
View Expert Group materials (JCP 2.8 and above JSRs)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
View Expert Group and Contributor nominations	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Be listed as a Supporter for a JSR Proposal	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Create a JSR Watch List		✓	✓	✓	✓
Nominate Contributors		✓	✓	✓	✓
Nominate for Expert Group		✓	✓	✓	✓
Propose new JSRs		✓	✓	✓	✓
Attend JCP Member events			✓	✓	✓
Serve as a Contributor to a JSR			✓		✓
Vote for an Associate seat in the Executive Committee elections			✓
Vote for a Ratified seat in the Executive Committee elections				✓	✓
Vote for an Elected seat in the Executive Committee elections				✓	✓
Serve on the Executive Committee				✓	✓
Review Community Drafts (JCP 2.1)					✓
Serve on Expert Groups					✓
Lead JSRs					✓

For a list of the companies and organizations who are JCP Members, visit the Member List.