Oracle JDK 17 is no longer free as of October 2024, and organizations using it must now follow the OTN License Agreement and pay for an Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription. Pricing is based on the total number of employees, including full‑time staff, contractors, consultants and anyone contributing to internal operations. Other free Java 17 distributions are not affected, and options such as Azul Zulu Builds of OpenJDK remain free. Users of Oracle Java 17 must decide whether to pay Oracle’s employee‑based licensing fees or migrate to a no‑cost or lower‑cost OpenJDK distribution.

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