OpenJDK Defend & Indemnify Clauses

[Kurt Miller]

OpenJDK binaries that have been built with the 'binary plugs' components
are governed by two licenses[1]; GPLv2 and the 'Binary License for
OpenJDK'. Free and open source projects distributing OpenJDK binary
packages should be aware that the 'Binary License for OpenJDK' contains
defend and indemnify clauses that may be unacceptable to them [2].

The intent of this email is to raise awareness of the licensing issues
associated with the distribution of OpenJDK binary packages and to
highlight the importance of replacing the remaining encumbered parts
with open-source alternatives. The encumbered parts need to be replaced
before a fully GPLv2 binary package can be distributed.

[1] The ASSEMBLY_EXCEPTION license
(http://openjdk.java.net/legal/assembly-exception.html) explains that
the resulting binaries are governed by both the GPL2 *and* the license
that the Designated Exception Modules uses. The 'binary plugs'
components are a Designated Exception Module.

[2] http://openjdk.java.net/legal/binary-license-2007-05-08.html
Paragraph 2. (b) (v)