MySQL FOSS License Exception

[Donald Szeto <do...@apache.org>]

Hi all,

I have searched around the Internet and haven't seen this discussed
(appreciate pointers if I missed any existing discussion).

The exception: https://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/

I am curious how Apache view this exception. Is it okay for Apache source
code to depends on it? What about binaries? Appreciate any input. Thanks!

Regards,
Donald

Re: MySQL FOSS License Exception

[Stian Soiland-Reyes <st...@apache.org>]

As Shane points out, such "Special exceptions" would in theory be good
enough for an open source project, but it restricts commercial
downstream users beyond the ASF license (which gives them the
"freedom" to NOT distribute the source)

https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved#category-x


However you can have an optional dependency and give users
instructions on how to build/add mysql support - given that the
project generally does not require it (most users would not need it).
With JDBC and Maven's <optional>true</optional> (can SBT do that?)
this should be quite easy to achieve for the mysql client lib; several
ASF projects already do this:

https://github.com/search?q=org%3Aapache+mysql&type=Code


What would NOT be ok is an "Apache mySQL Friend" - e.g. an ASF product
that would be pointless without the (L)GPL component - even if you
managed to sneak away from a compile-dependency. :-)

(Where this gets tricky is if a project has such optional Connector
plugins, but the plugin is released on its own)


Refs:
https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved#optional

On 30 September 2016 at 02:38, Shane Curcuru <as...@shanecurcuru.org> wrote:
> Donald Szeto wrote on 9/29/16 6:13 PM:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I have searched around the Internet and haven't seen this discussed
>> (appreciate pointers if I missed any existing discussion).
>>
>> The exception: https://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/
>>
>> I am curious how Apache view this exception. Is it okay for Apache source
>> code to depends on it? What about binaries? Appreciate any input. Thanks!
>
> My bet is no, because it doesn't meet Apache's license criteria:
>
>   https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html#criteria
>
> In particular, the ASF's intent is that third parties may take Apache
> software releases and use or redistribute a variety of works based on
> them without any additional restrictions other than the permissive
> Apache license.  This is intended to apply for further redistributions
> as well, where the third party's licensing would permit it.
>
> That is, our policy explicitly tries to avoid special cases that the
> *ASF* might be able to take advantage of, but that a *redistributor* of
> a larger work including our Apache released software might not be able
> to take advantage of (because they use a different or commercial license
> for some of the work).
>
> - Shane
>
>
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-- 
Stian Soiland-Reyes
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9842-9718

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Re: MySQL FOSS License Exception

[Shane Curcuru <as...@shanecurcuru.org>]

Donald Szeto wrote on 9/29/16 6:13 PM:
> Hi all,
> 
> I have searched around the Internet and haven't seen this discussed
> (appreciate pointers if I missed any existing discussion).
> 
> The exception: https://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/
> 
> I am curious how Apache view this exception. Is it okay for Apache source
> code to depends on it? What about binaries? Appreciate any input. Thanks!

My bet is no, because it doesn't meet Apache's license criteria:

  https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html#criteria

In particular, the ASF's intent is that third parties may take Apache
software releases and use or redistribute a variety of works based on
them without any additional restrictions other than the permissive
Apache license.  This is intended to apply for further redistributions
as well, where the third party's licensing would permit it.

That is, our policy explicitly tries to avoid special cases that the
*ASF* might be able to take advantage of, but that a *redistributor* of
a larger work including our Apache released software might not be able
to take advantage of (because they use a different or commercial license
for some of the work).

- Shane


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