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Oracle Begins Aggressively Pursuing Java Licensing Fees (theregister.co.uk)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the run-everywhere dept.

Java SE is free, but Java SE Suite and various flavors of Java SE Advanced are not, and now Oracle "is massively ramping up audits of Java customers it claims are in breach of its licenses," reports the Register. Oracle bought Java with Sun Microsystems in 2010 but only now is its License Management Services division chasing down people for payment, we are told by people familiar with the matter. The database giant is understood to have hired 20 individuals globally this year, whose sole job is the pursuit of businesses in breach of their Java licenses... Huge sums of money are at stake, with customers on the hook for multiple tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Slashdot reader rsilvergun writes, "Oracle had previously sued Google for the use of Java in Android but had lost that case. While that case is being appealed, it remains to be seen if the latest push to monetize Java is a response to that loss or part of a broader strategy on Oracle's part." The Register interviewed the head of an independent license management service who says Oracle's even targeting its own partners now.

But after acquiring Sun in 2010, why did Oracle's License Management Services wait a full six years? "It is believed to have taken that long for LMS to devise audit methodologies and to build a detailed knowledge of customers' Java estates on which to proceed."

7 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Oracle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Larry Ellison is the greediest man on earth and Oracle is his prophet.

    1. Re:Oracle by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Funny

      Larry Ellison is the greediest man on earth and Oracle is his prophet.

      Many believe that Larry is a Sith Lord. If he is indeed a Sith Master, then who is his apprentice?

    2. Re:Oracle by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

      Many believe that Larry is a Sith Lord. If he is indeed a Sith Master, then who is his apprentice?

      The clue is in the question.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Oracle by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 4, Funny

      [isn't] the croissant technically free?

      Depends if the supermarket locks the door behind you after you enter. Yes, the croissant is free. YOU, however ....

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
  2. It's nice that Oracle and I agree by Required+Snark · · Score: 4, Funny
    I don't much care for Java and now Oracle is trying to kill it.

    I never thought I would be on the same side as them.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
  3. Re:Dealing with Oracle is risky by plover · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once the lawsuits were over and SCO was finally unplugged from the life support lawyers, Darl McBride was leaving the courthouse. Ironically, he slipped on a banana peel on the courthouse steps, and as he fell, he dropped the mantle of 'Litigious Bastards'. Larry was walking by, picked it up, and tried it on. It was still warm and comfy! So he brought it back home, had the tailors in the licensing department do some alterations, and now he's going to put it on as everyday wear, just like Zuckerberg and his hoodies.

    "And that, my children, is how the Ghost of Larry Ellison came to haunt the valley. Now, off to bed with you all!"

    --
    John
  4. Here's the reason behind the wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Java [garbage collection] license [garbage collection] [garbage collection] [garbage collection] audit [garbage collection] [garbage collection] routines were
    [garbage collection] written in [garbage collection] [garbage collection] [garbage collection] java and [garbage collection] [garbage collection] because of the code [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] size the gar [garbage collection] [garbage collection] bage collector [garbage collection] [garbage collection] could [garbage collection] [garbage collection] not keep up.

    Java is faster [garbage collection] [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] than C [garbage collection] [garbage collection] you [garbage collection] [garbage collection] [garbage collection] just have to [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] wait [garbage collection] [garbage collection] [garbage collection] for the JIT and [garbage collection] [garbage collection] GC routines [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] to profile [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] your [garbage collection] [garbage collection][garbage collection] code.