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Explained: Oracle Java licensing changes (Sept - 2021) - read the full article about java development 2021, Software Development and from Redress Compliance - Oracle Licensing Experts on Qualified.One
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Hey guys, this is Fredrik from Redress Compliance. Since we made our video about Java licensing weve had almost 1000 views on that video, so theres a big interest in Java. And thats why Im making this video, because theres already been misinformation spread around on the internet. Im here to clean it up for you. I used to work for Oracle for nine years, and for one and a half years of that I was working in Oracles partner organization. And that organization was responsible for negotiating different type of distribution agreements, partner agreements with Oracle solutions [inaudible 00:00:37] and the Java licensing agreements are using that type of language. So up to Java OTN agreement. Obviously Im not Oracle, but after working one and a half years with these ISV and royalty type based agreements I have some insights into how Oracle interprets those type of contract clauses. Im here to give you my take so that you can better understand your Java licensing risk. Have a look at the licensing agreement, and this is what we should be paying attention to first. And the line is your use of this program is governed by the no-fee terms and conditions set forth below, unless you have received this program alone or as part of another Oracle product under an Oracle license agreement, including but not limited to the Oracle Master Agreement, in which case your use of these programs is governed solely by such license agreement with Oracle. What this means is that before 2019, before Oracle introduced a Java subscription there was a Java license. Java wasnt really free before 2019. Those customers that purchase a Java license and since before that, they cannot just say, okay, were going to terminate our licensing agreement now and make use of this no-fee agreement. That does not work. This is what Oracle is trying to do, theyre trying to protect their existing support stream. Oracle have signed very lucrative royalty based agreement with other large software companies or companies that are building solutions and are embedding Java. So we could argue and without knowing the details, but we can think about the third-party companies like IBM and SAP. Im pretty certain that they are not allowed to make use of Oracle for free, theyre paying money to Oracle. And if Oracle would simply make this open source completely free, those companies could arguably try to force them way out of their royalty based agreement and Oracle would lose a lot of business. So this text here is to protect those kind of royalty based agreements. So what if you purchased subscription last year for 20 users? Lets say Redress Compliance purchase a Java subscription for 20 users and we have Java 11, what would it mean? It wouldnt mean nothing because the Java OTN agreement is for Java 11. When we would download and use Java 17 then theyre looking at this agreement. It would be absurd if Redress Compliance buys 20 subscriptions and cannot make use of this no-fee agreement, but IKEA, which have 100,000, if they have not purchased anything, thats absolutely not the intention of this agreement. This agreement is valid for Java 17. If you have a subscription agreement that is valid for previous versions, if you upgrade to Java 17 you do not need a subscription agreement from Oracle. Lets go down and look at the licensing rights that Oracle is giving you. A, internally use the unmodified programs for the purposes of developing, testing, and prototyping and demonstrating your applications, and running the programs for your personal use and internal business operations. What is new here compared to the Java OTN agreement is that Oracle have added this last part here, internal business operations. This is new. In Java 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 you could not use Java for any commercial use. This is brand new. It means that theres no limitations on what you can use it, as long as its for internal use. And that is a big thing. Previously, if you wanted something else you would have to use OpenJDK, now you can use the Oracle JDK binaries. The B, redistribute the unmodified programs and program documentation under the terms of this license, provided that you do not charge your licensees any fees associated with such distribution or use of the program, including, without limitation, fees for products that include or are bundled or a copy of the program or services that involve the use of the distributed program. What Oracles saying here is that you may distribute Java on the terms of this license, provided that you do not charge your licencees any fees associated with the Java license. A normal question would be if you upgrade to Java 17 is completely freely done? If you upgrade to Java 17 it is completely free right now. And theres a statement from Oracle about the intentions, what will happen in the future. Lets have a look at that. Is Java 17 going to be completely free for all time? We actually dont know. Theres nothing inside of the licensing agreement saying that Java 17, when you apply a specific security patch that you have to pay for a license. But lets have a look at what is the documentation that Oracle is putting out on their website. How long will Oracle used the NFTC and what happens afterwards? Oracle will use the NFTC for JDK 17 and later released. So it means that they plan to use this for not only 17 but also later usage. But that is also not in the contract, we dont know. LTS releases such as JDK 17 will receive updates under this license for one year after the release of the subsequent LTS. After the free use license period Oracle intends to use the OTN license, the same currently used for Java 8 and 11 LTS releases. What this means is that Oracle intents to give you free security updates for one year once you come up to Java 17. Oracle will release security updates for one year on Java 17. How long will Oracle use the NFTC and what happens afterwards? Oracle will use the NFTC for Java 17 and later releases. LTS releases, long-term releases such as Java 17 will receive updates under this license for one year after the release of the subsequent LTS. After free use license period Oracle intends to use the OTN license, the same currently used for Java 8 and 11. So yes, you will be able to use it for free for one year and Oracle have the intention. Its not in licensing agreement, Oracle can still change their mind about this. They might offer free updates for even longer periods, but this gives at least customers the choice or have the option. Ive helped over 20 companies with Java licensing and in my experience, the companies are running Java on desktops and theyre looking at different alternatives understanding that its commercial use. We cant even have Java on our desktop anymore if we apply a security patch. At least those customers now have the option to upgrade to Java 17 and you dont need to purchase a license. I think this is a great move. You might argue, oh, but its going to cost you money if you remain on that long-term version and then you need to upgrade to the new version. But considering Oracle have not audited any customers, and its a pretty strong staking on here to the community. And were going to read the Java project manager blog post together and Im going to give you my take on it. Lets have a look. This is a blog post posted on September 14 by Donald Smith, who is a senior director at Oracle for product management. The title is introducing the free Java license. Oracle is making the industry leader, Oracle JDK available for free, including all quarterly security updates. This includes commercial and production use. The new license is the Oracle no-fee terms and conditions NFTC license. This license for Oracle JDK permits free use for all users, even commercial and production use. Redistribution is permitted as long as it is not for a fee. Developers and organizations can now easily download, use, and share, and redistribute Oracle JDK without needing a click through. Okay. Oracle will provide these free licenses and updates starting with Oracle JDK 17 and continue for one full year after the next LTS release, prior versions are not affected by this change. Oracle will continue to provide Oracle OpenJDK releases under the GPL on the same releases and schedule as it has since Java 9. So in this executive summary I can read the language free times. The headline of this blog is called free license. If youre in a legal dispute with Oracle, Im pretty certain that your legal team will find this article and use it to fight against Oracle if theres any disputes about what is free and what is not free. Lets read further. In September 2017, Oracle announced plans to distribute JDK under the GPL as Oracle OpenJDK, and also as the Oracle JDK under Oracle Technology Network license, OTN. Providing Oracle OpenJDK builds under the GPL was highly welcomed, but feedback from developers, academia and enterprises was that they wanted the trusted, rock-solid Oracle JDK under unambiguously free terms license too. This is something thats published, sure its not part of the contract, but whoever is using Java, and if theres a audit or the legal dispute, this is what the legal team will be looking at. Look at the message and the signal that product management and Oracle is putting out there. Theyre even saying here, theyre listening to the feedback from its customers, from its partners and now theyre doing a U-turn. Would you really think that Oracle hasnt even started to do a job on licensing audits yet? Do you think that theyre going to go back to that? Oracle appreciates the feedback from the developer ecosystem and are pleased to announce that as of Java 17 were delivering on exactly that request. Im a big fan of Oracle software, but Im not a big fan of Oracles business practices. They need to do more to help its customers rather than trying to milk every dollar from them, from their support agreements. Lets continue reading. Oracle will provide Oracle JDK LTS releases under the NFTC for at least one full year after the subsequent LTS version. It says here, for at least one year. We dont know how long they will be doing this, and Oracle probably doesnt know either. If you want to know more, were hosting a job or licensing training live course on September 30. But think about what signals Oracle is giving out here. Think about what theyre writing in this blog. Think about whats in the contract term. Think about what theyre saying in this blog here. Theyre basically saying we heard you, you dont like it, you want to use the Oracle JDK. Were changing our mind, were delivering on that request, as Oracle is writing. If thats not a U-turn I dont know what is. But obviously they cant make everything free because then they would lose their licensing agreements for paying maintenance to Oracle, but also the royalty business. Thats why they need to have some sort of control over Java. So Oracle is putting this into a bit of a bag again. And if I would be working as an [inaudible 00:12:13] and customer right now I would be thinking, okay, yes, we need to clear up the server installations, which is going to be remaining on the older versions for quite some time. If you liked the video, please subscribe. If you think that maybe Redress Compliance can help you with Oracle licensing you can reach us at www.redresscompliance.com or you can send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for watching.
Redress Compliance - Oracle Licensing Experts: Explained: Oracle Java licensing changes (Sept - 2021) - Software Development