Oracle ESL license is a short name for Oracle Embedded license. This is a highly restrictive Oracle license that Oracle ISVs can package and resell along with their application/solution. The requirement for reselling Oracle ESL is that the company developing and owning the IP that is embedding Oracle must become an Oracle Partner. By far the most common embedded product is Oracle database and database options. Oracle provides the ISV with a 90% discount from Oracle technology price list, this is an indication of how restrictive the Oracle ESL license model is.
One notable difference ESL vs Oracle Full use and Oracle ASFU is that there is no requirement to maintain Oracle technical support for Oracle esl licenses. And most Oracle ISVs do not maintain technical support for embedded licenses. The Oracle ISV who are reselling the ESL license is not allowed to list the Oracle database as a separate component on their price list / contract.
There are two license models available for Oracle embedded license, standard Oracle licensing metrics such as Named User Plus and Processor, where Oracle grants the ISV 90% discount. The other license model is royalty based where Oracle takes a % (usually 10%) from the ISV price list and the ISV does not need to count users or processors.
Which products can be sold/used with embeddec license?
The below picture is part of the standard embedded license agreement that a company signs with Oracle when they want to have the rights to distribute Oracle software along with their software package. For end customers it has little value as they are not responsible for license compliance for the ESL deployment towards Oracle. But for ISVs who are entering embedded licensing agreements we recommend that you do not provide too many details, as you want to intentionally leave it vague to allow flexibility in changes to your application package. If you make minor updates you may not want to re-negotiate your licensing agreement every time.
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If you need further help, contact us to find out more about our services and how we can help you with Oracle ESL licensing / embedded licensing models. We support both end customers and Oracle ISVs who wants to negotiate Oracle Embedded licensing contracts.