Oracle has said Java is an important part of why it wants to acquire Sun. In an that describes ramifications of the deal for Sun customers, Oracle said that it "plans to not only broaden and accelerate its own investment in the Java platform, but also plans to increase the commitment to the community that helps make Java an ubiquitous, innovative platform."

In 2006, Sun started Java, placing it under the Gnu General Public License and allowing the JCP to determine how the language would evolve. It retained ownership of the Java brand, however, as well as veto power within the , Little said. "If Sun did not want something to happen, it would not happen," he said.

In a blog last November, SAP Chief Technology Officer Vishal Sikkaalso also noted Sun's undue influence over the JCP. SAP is another heavy user of Java for its Netweaver platform. "The JCP is heavily dominated by Sun Microsystems," he wrote.

Little noted that Sun's control did not pose a serious problem to the development of Java, at first anyway. "Sun did a pretty good job as a custodian," he said."They were in some ways a benevolent dictator."