The OpenJDK and OracleJDK are identical code bases since JDK 11 and are fully interchangeable. The only patches that exist for OracleJDK were the paid support p

The OpenJDK and OracleJDK are identical code bases since JDK 11 and are fully interchangeable. The only patches that exist for OracleJDK were the paid support patches for back ports. If you stay on the latest JDK, then this was never relevant to you. If your company is not nimble enough to do that, then it could pay for the tired dinosaur patches and stay on old JDKs. Since other companies have started contributing to the effort of tired dinosaur patches again, it's no longer necessary for Oracle to charge a fee to produce them. In other words, Oracle successfully averted a "tragedy of the commons" by asserting property rights long enough to make others behave and stop abusing the system.