In this article the authors introduce a novel generic composite event detection framework that can be added on top of existing middleware architectures, as demonstrated in the implementation over JMS. The authors argue that the framework is flexible, expressive, and easy to implement. Based on finite state automata extended with a rich time model and parameterization support, it provides a decomposable core language for specifying composite events. This allows detection to be distributed automatically throughout the system, guided by distribution policies that control the quality of service. Finally, tests show that using composite event system over JMS can reduce bandwidth consumption while maintaining low notification delay for composite events.