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The Java is GPL license (reference from wikipedia). I am not sure I can use it in in commercial projects. I already have a website written in Java and I plan to use this for commercial use. Is that illegal?

blueberryfields
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Shisoft
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8 Answers8

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The GPL license applies to the source of Java itself, not to applications created using Java. You should only be concerned if you are extending / modifying the Java language itself and reselling the result as a commercial product (or any other non-GPL license).

Eran Galperin
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OpenJDK is licensed under GPL with Classpath Exception. The Classpath Exception part is important. It allows you to use OpenJDK with software of any licence, not just the GPL. In particular, you can use OpenJDK with proprietary software.

Wim Coenen
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C. K. Young
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Java JDK binary is NOT GPL, it is BCL. Oracle is free to change the license as they please. (FAQ #8) That being said, Oracle cannot renege older versions of Java released under the GPL.

Always consult the License for up-to-date information. As of today the license states:

Internal/In-house use: The Java SE platform binaries (JDK and JRE) are licensed under Sun's Binary Code License (BCL) with supplemental terms. For most developers and end-users, the binary JDK and binary JRE are all that's needed to experience the world of Java technology. USE: The binary JDK and JRE are available at no fee from Sun (per terms of the BCL) for use with desktop personal computers. JDK or JRE use for embedded devices and other computing environments may require a license fee from Sun. Read more about embedded use of Java SE, or contact your local Sun office to obtain a license.

Keep in mind you cannot release Java SE on an embedded device (think Google Android) as stated by the FAQ.

The Java SDK source is available under the SCSL and JPL license.

Source Code: The JDK source code is available for researchers and others interested in exploring the details of the JDK. Each release has its own license or set of licenses which frequently includes the Sun Community Source License (SCSL) terms. Sun has recently started offering simplified access to the JDK source code under the a new Java Research License (JRL). Note that in either case (SCSL or JRL), if you decide to use your project internally for productive use or distribute your product to others, you must sign a commercial agreement and meet the Java compatibility requirements. Contact your local Sun office to obtain an agreement.

Community
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snmcdonald
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You are confusing several things.

  • The GPL is a license concerning the redistribution of software. Even if the Java compiler you used was GPL'ed, this wouldn't prevent you from distributing your own software, because that's different from redistributing Java. (And the Java runtime can be downloaded separately from Oracle, anyway).
  • The GPL is not incompatible with commercial software. Some answers here seem to be confusing "proprietary vs free (as in speech)" with "commercial vs free (as in beer)". It's true certain care must be taken when selling GPL'ed software (selling does count as "redistribution"), but it's not impossible to do.
  • Oracle's implementation of Java is not GPL'ed. Read its license here.
  • Open JDK is a GPL'ed implementation, but as mentioned above, this doesn't make it incompatible with commercial software.
Andres F.
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As I know , according to current license Java is under BCL(Sun's Binary Code License) , you can use JDK and JRE free for commercial use . Use ECLIPSE as your IDE as enty point to develop your Java code. It is an opensource one so you don't need any lisence for the same. When you are working on project , you will need many other tools to perform various stuffs. Most of required functions are given as plugins(downloadable) in eclipse.

Sunny Khanuja
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After movement to Java BLC the entire licensing of Java usage is subject to interpretation which means "contact Oracle if you want to really sure".

That means pay if they want you to pay. As per BLC, Java can be freely used for "General Purpose Desktop Computers and Servers" (as in http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/terms/license/index.html) , whose definition includes words "general purpose computing".

I don't know if my computing is a general purpose computing - are you sure that yours is? Oracle have also added clauses like "used for general computing functions under end user control".

Check with your legal department.

Jarrod Nettles
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netpilot
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You can compile an application using gcc, which is free software. Then you can license your app as you please, but not the gcc compiler.

Guest
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No. As far as I currently know, the GPL only limits the use of the source code of the code or program licensed with it (in this case, the program which runs Java code). But it does not limit the Java code itself.

Abbafei
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