If you have been following our Oracle Java licensing updates, then you will know that Oracle’s No-Fee Terms & Conditions (NFTC) offers a cost-effective means of utilizing Oracle Java. As we discussed in our previous post on the history of Oracle Java licensing, NFTC licensing has its pros and cons. One of the cons is ensuring you do not run afoul of the 3-year “free” period. After this period, downloading any patches or updates for the version of Oracle Java will require a commercial license (in the case of LTS licenses; refer to the previous post for details).
For Oracle Java v17, which is a LTS version released in 2021, the period of no-cost patches ended in September 2024. Here are important dates to consider:
- The last free/no-cost update to Oracle Java v17 is Java SE 17.0.12.0.2 released on August 16th, 2024.
- The first Oracle Java v17 update that is NOT covered by the NFTC license and hence requires OTN or commercial Oracle Java SE license coverage is 17.0.13, released on October 15th, 2024. All Oracle Java v17 updates from 17.0.13 and above will require an OTN or, as Oracle always contends, a commercial Oracle Java SE license.
To remain license-compliant without paying exorbitant Oracle Java license fees, customers have a few options:
- Freeze Oracle Java v17 deployments at 17.0.12.0.2. This poses potential security and other technical risks in the future that Oracle may release further updates for.
- Move to Oracle Java v21 LTS as that still has several years of no-cost updates.
- Switch from Oracle Java to non-Oracle java options like OpenJDK.
Feel free to periodically check back at our blog for further updates on Oracle Java.
I specialize in software licensing, IT cost management, and spend optimization. I help clients get the most value out of their IT investments while managing compliance risks. My career began at Deloitte & Touche LLP in the San Francisco/San Jose area, where I developed expertise in software license management around IBM, HP, Microsoft and other software vendors. I also assisted with SOX audits and business/IT controls. Later, I joined Oracle’s License Management Servers (LMS) group, performing license audits and contributing to the development of audit tools and methodologies.
