Re: Fw: GPL / LGPL

These are good points. I think that it should be OK for anyone, commercial or 
not to create Ozone based applications without forcing them to comply to any 
type of licensing restrictions. This is how i understand LGPL and this is why 
the public api (the one that the client i.e. the Ozone based app is using) is 
LGPL. However if modifications to the actual Ozone code is made these 
modifications should be given back to the community. Also if someone takes 
the Ozone codebase and decides to fork this fork should be open source. This 
is why the Ozone core is GPL. This means in short

1. It is OK to ship commercial apps based on Ozone without having to open 
source the app. In fact I would encourage more commercial Ozone Based apps!

2. If changes to Ozone is needed for the commercial application those changes 
need to be either GPL or LGPL depending on if the change is in the public API 
or in the core. The best way for the commercial vendor to make sure 
improvements gets incorporated into the mainstream code is to get involved in 
the development of Ozone. We are in the process of figuring out a way to 
receive donations (through the SourceForge donation system). This would be 
another way to give back to the developers of Ozone and let them benefit from 
some of the profit generated by a successfull commercial, Ozone-based app.


Coming back to the questions posed by Christian Merenda:
>Which license corresponds to which part of the database system?
As explained above. Clients interact with LGPL code. The public (LGPL) api 
interacts with the Core, which is GPL.

> >If you_re restraining the core to the GPL, ozone would be no option for
> >everybody who plans to distribute a commercial and proprietary
> >application.
Sure it would. As long as you do not modify the Ozone code and only interact 
with the public api you're perfectly fine.

> > We´re strongly contributed to Open Source and we´re planning to give
> > our work back to the Open Source Community under the GPL. So it´s
> > absolutely free to use in the Open Source Environment. Additionally we
> > will offer a proprietary, commercial license for the rest of the
> > industrie. Can we do this with Ozone in the back-end? Do you offer the
> > product under the LGPL?

Yes you're code talks to the Ozone API which is LGPL. Thus linking to an Ozone 
back end poses no restrictions on how you license your code (be it GPL, APL, 
commercial or whatever)

> >
> > Additionally it could be interesting for you to tightly integrate
> > Ozone with our product. If we work together, we can squeeze out the
> > maximum amount of performance of an ODBMS with the highest level of
> > abstraction ever seen on the market. What do you think about this?

Sounds interesting. Please elaborate!

Best regards,
Per



Monday 13 June 2005 12.19 skrev Kai Schutte:
> I recently asked MySQL directly about a similar question. The MySQL
> server itself is GPL, and the server also can be compiled as a library
> that can be directly linked with other code. The 'connectors', ie the
> drivers which manage a connection to MySQL are also GPL, which means
> that any application that you write that either links with the library
> version of the server or any of the drivers they provide must also be
> GPL, *unless* you purchase their commercial license. This also means
> that if you write your own connector which handles a network connection
> to the MySQL server, you do not need your code to be GPL nor purchase a
> commercial license, as your code doesn't link with anything GPL.
>
> The hitch with GPL is that anything that links to it must also be GPL.
> It is a violation of the license to link and LGPL code with GPL code.
> (Of course, if you're the author, you're allowed to do that, because
> you're the only person who can sue yourself). Linking Bob's proprietary
> code with Alice's LGPL code which links with Alice's GPL code is a clear
> violation. The only way you can use a GPL database server with
> proprietary code is through a network connection.
>
> Hence, if the product that Christian Meranda is working on would require
> linking to GPL code (within the same application space) and this code is
> to be redistributed under the GPL, all is good. But, if they want to
> resell a commercial license for their clients to use their product which
> includes Ozone GPL code, that's obviously a violation, because Christian
> Merenda is distributing his work under a different license which links
> to GPL code and the GPL doesn't allow that. The only solution here is if
> Ozone itself would be distributed under a different license.
>
> In my opinion, if Christian Merenda wants to sell his work which relies
> on Ozone being in the same application space, aren't Ozone developpers
> entitled to some share of the funds? (ie, make a commercial license
> scheme for Ozone).
>
> -kai
>
> (btw, I'm not an Ozone dev, I'm just thinking out loud :) )
>
> Gerd Mueller wrote:
> >Begin forwarded message:
> >
> >Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2005 17:25:14 +0200
> >From: "Christian Merenda" <[email protected]>
> >To: <[email protected]>
> >Subject: GPL / LGPL
> >
> >
> >Dear sir / madam,
> >
> >on your website  <http://www.ozone-db.org/> www.ozone-db.org you have to
> >licenses _Ozone Library License_ and _Ozone Core License_. The first is
> >essentially based on the LGPL, the second one on the GPL.
> >
> >So I do not understand which license is the right one or better to say:
> >Which license corresponds to which part of the database system?
> >
> >If you_re restraining the core to the GPL, ozone would be no option for
> >everybody who plans to distribute a commercial and proprietary
> >application.
> >
> >In our special case, we have developed a very smart object-oriented
> >database metamodel and API, which could be implemented on top of
> >different back-ends. We_ve done already for JBoss and Ozone is another
> >option for us. As our model-driven architecture approach is extremely
> >powerful and complemented with a best-of-class IDE it could give Ozone a
> >boost in widespread application.
> >
> >We_re strongly contributed to Open Source and we_re planning to give our
> >work back to the Open Source Community under the GPL. So it_s absolutely
> >free to use in the Open Source Environment. Additionally we will offer a
> >proprietary, commercial license for the rest of the industrie. Can we do
> >this with Ozone in the back-end? Do you offer the product under the
> >LGPL?
> >
> >Additionally it could be interesting for you to tightly integrate Ozone
> >with our product. If we work together, we can squeeze out the maximum
> >amount of performance of an ODBMS with the highest level of abstraction
> >ever seen on the market. What do you think about this?
> >
> >Best regards,
> >Christian Merenda
> >
> >----------------------------
> >Christian Merenda
> >Franz-Joseph-Str. 7
> >80801 München
> >
> >Tel.: 0 89/82 90 97-17
> >Fax: 0 89/82 90 97-18
> >E-Mail:  <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
> >Web:  <http://www.merenda.de> www.merenda.de
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------------------
> >Gerd Mueller                                    [email protected]
> >SMB GmbH                                  http://www.smb-tec.com
> >
> >
> >!DSPAM:42ad353e230183574914120!
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Dear sir / madam,
> >
> > on your website www.ozone-db.org <http://www.ozone-db.org/> you have
> > to licenses „Ozone Library License” and „Ozone Core License“. The
> > first is essentially based on the LGPL, the second one on the GPL.
> >
> > So I do not understand which license is the right one or better to
> > say: Which license corresponds to which part of the database system?
> >
> > If you’re restraining the core to the GPL, ozone would be no option
> > for everybody who plans to distribute a commercial and proprietary
> > application.
> >
> > In our special case, we have developed a very smart object-oriented
> > database metamodel and API, which could be implemented on top of
> > different back-ends. We´ve done already for JBoss and Ozone is another
> > option for us. As our model-driven architecture approach is extremely
> > powerful and complemented with a best-of-class IDE it could give Ozone
> > a boost in widespread application.
> >
> > We´re strongly contributed to Open Source and we´re planning to give
> > our work back to the Open Source Community under the GPL. So it´s
> > absolutely free to use in the Open Source Environment. Additionally we
> > will offer a proprietary, commercial license for the rest of the
> > industrie. Can we do this with Ozone in the back-end? Do you offer the
> > product under the LGPL?
> >
> > Additionally it could be interesting for you to tightly integrate
> > Ozone with our product. If we work together, we can squeeze out the
> > maximum amount of performance of an ODBMS with the highest level of
> > abstraction ever seen on the market. What do you think about this?
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Christian Merenda
> >
> > ----------------------------
> >
> > Christian Merenda
> >
> > Franz-Joseph-Str. 7
> >
> > 80801 München
> >
> > Tel.: 0 89/82 90 97-17
> >
> > Fax: 0 89/82 90 97-18
> >
> > E-Mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> >
> > Web: www.merenda.de <http://www.merenda.de>
>
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