Does Running Java on Docker Containers Violate Agreements?

Sure, but the default Docker registry is public, and Docker encourages you to create and publish images without any mention of copyright.

The same argument applies to e.g. EC2 machine images, but AMIs are private by default.

I am not a lawyer either but it all boils down to distributing JRE + your software is okay but distributing the JRE alone is not.

The difference with a VM image (or an .iso, for that matter) is that it contains both your program and the JRE in the same deployable unit, which is what the license permits.

Docker containers, by contrast, store each layer separately, so that you can build up a runtime by overlaying multiple layer elements. Each software install results in its own layer being created and then pushed independently. This allows deltas to be shipped more efficiently since they only store the changes for each layer. However it now means that you're shipping the JRE separately from your application, which is against the rights given by the license.

If you use OpenJDK you can end up with an unknown version of Java - specifically whatever Debian or Canonical happened to pull from the source tree and ship, which in some cases have been automated top-of-tree pulls before. See for example: github.com/docker-library/openjdk/commit/00a9c5...

As a fanboy for clojure I have mixed feelings about this