Update on bug system for OpenJDK (web-discuss)

[Mike Milinkovich]

> > What you shoud be asking for is open/free *data* from the bug tracking
> > system (via a free to use API). If the data submitted to the bug
> > system is privately owned by Oracle then you have an impediment to
> > forking. The actual system the data resides in is pretty much
> > irrelevant. (ie. with open data, you could write a tool to mirror JIRA
> > into a Bugzilla instance and use Bugzilla if you really wanted to)
> 
> That's true.  The legal ownership of the data also matters.

Assuming that the bug database would be covered by the OpenJDK terms of
use[1], a quick read says that Oracle aggregates a pretty complete license
to any content contributed, but not ownership. (This may be different for
those who have actually signed an OCA.) The licenses to the content would be
the license of the project or the New BSD unless otherwise noted.

IMHO, the license that the data is made available under is the more
important factor than the ownership. At Eclipse, for example, the ownership
of the content in the bug database is highly diffused. The right to fork,
duplicate, create derivative works, etc. comes from the license. 

IANAL.

[1] http://openjdk.org/legal/terms.html