I’ve just found out that the licensing for Java has changed from 8u211 onwards (including 9, 10, 11, etc.). My fear is that as I’m bundling the JRE with a game that I’m then selling for money, that that’s commercial use of the JRE. So, I’ve been going through the old and new licenses, trying to figure it out whether I’m now going to have to pay for a license from Oracle if I want to bundle versions later than 8u202.
The old license (BCL) specifically mentions bundling:
Oracle grants you a non‑exclusive, non‑transferable, limited license without fees to reproduce and distribute the Software, provided that (i) you distribute the Software complete and unmodified and only bundled as part of, and for the sole purpose of running, your Programs.
However, it doesn’t specify the particular usage that this applies to. Presumably the implication is that if it doesn’t specify any particular usages, then it applies to all usages, including bundling the JRE with a game that you then sell.
The new license (OTN) doesn’t mention bundling. However, the bit that’s probably most relevant is this:
Oracle grants You a nonexclusive, nontransferable, limited license to use the Programs, subject to the restrictions stated in this Agreement and Program Documentation, only for:
(i) Personal Use,
(ii) Development Use,
(iii) Oracle Approved Product Use, and/or
(iv) Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Use.
By specifically mentioning personal use and development use, and not mentioning commercial use, is the implication that if you’re using the JRE to earn money, that that’s not covered by this license, and so you need to buy a license?
However, another way to look at it is that even though we’re bundling the JRE, our customers will be using it for their personal use, and we’re using the JDK for development use. Viewed this way, all uses are covered by the OTN, which means we can continue to bundle the JRE with our games without having to pay anything to Oracle.
Is this how everyone here who bundles the JRE with their game understands the new license?
