[Psc] license faq

[Tim Schaub]

Hey-

Here's what my understanding is based on:

 From http://extjs.com/products/floss-exception.php, Terms and 
Conditions, 2.b:

"""
all identifiable sections of the Derivative Work which are not derived 
from the Library, and which can reasonably be considered independent and 
separate works in themselves
"""

I take "Derivative Work" to mean the application in this context.

All "identifiable sections ... not derived from the [Ext] Library" are 
all the scripts that you distribute with your application.  I'm thinking 
literally about every script included that is not what you download and 
redistribute from extjs.com.  These can be considered separate works in 
themselves.

Continuing with 2.b.i:

"""
are distributed subject to one of the FLOSS licenses listed below
"""

All that means to me that if you do not wish to have a closed source 
application, you can distribute any original work under the licenses 
listed on that page (assuming you meet other terms).

It also means to me that you can distribute things like GeoExt with your 
application because it is BSD.

Where do you get that the application exception 
(http://extjs.com/products/floss-exception.php) only talks about 
additional libraries?  The only use of "Library" I see on that page 
refers to Ext JS or Ext GWT.  The rest of the page is about licenses for 
your application.

Tim

Eric Lemoine wrote:
> On Thursday, April 23, 2009, Bart van den Eijnden (OSGIS)
> <bartvde at osgis.nl> wrote:
>> Hey Tim,
>>
>> okay, then maybe we should write instead (or something similar) to make
>> this more explicit:
>>
>> "If your application is an open source application and meets all of the requirements and terms outlined on the following page, you can use any of
>> the licenses described on the Ext page about licenses for open source
>> applications <http://extjs.com/products/floss-exception.php>."
> 
> Again I don't think (tell me if I'm wrong) the floss exception says
> that you can use any of the listed licenses for your app. It says that
> your app can use librairies licensed under the the listed licenses,
> but your app will have to be GPLv3 in any case.
> 
> --
> Eric
> 
>> Best regards,
>> Bart
>>
>> Tim Schaub wrote:
>>> Hey-
>>>
>>> Bart van den Eijnden (OSGIS) wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey Tim,
>>>>
>>>> looks good I corrected two little spelling mistakes.
>>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>>> A few questions:
>>>> 1) if you use the cachefly hosted instances of Ext, are you distributing
>>>> Ext source code through your application?
>>>>
>>>> Probably yes, but maybe this should be added to the FAQ to avoid confusion?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Yeah, interesting.  Not sure.  Let's nail the least confusing cases first.
>>>
>>>
>>>> 2) you write:
>>>> "If your application is an open source application, you can use any of
>>>> the licenses described on the Ext page about licenses for open source
>>>> applications <http://extjs.com/products/floss-exception.php>."
>>>>
>>>> Is this really true? Is this exception not only for frameworks and the
>>>> like? How can we state this without knowing if the application in
>>>> question meets all the requirements of the exemption?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Two exceptions:
>>>
>>>   * for frameworks http://extjs.com/products/ux-exception.php
>>>   * for applications http://extjs.com/products/floss-exception.php
>>>
>>> GeoExt qualifies as a framework, so we can make decisions about how
>>> GeoExt is licensed.
>>>
>>> We *cannot* make decisions about how end-user applications are licensed.
>>>   People who create applications have to read that page and decide how
>>> to license their application.  Basically, if they want their source
>>> closed, they purchase an Ext "commercial" license.  If they go open
>>> source, they choose from the licenses on the application exception page.
>>>
>>> The important part is that our license does not affect the license of
>>> any application.  (So an application developer doesn't have to purchase
>>> a license from us and one from Ext if they want to close their source.)
>>>
>>> Tim
>>>
>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>> Bart
>>>>
>>>> Tim Schaub wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I filled out the page based on my understanding.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.geoext.org/trac/geoext/wiki/license
>>>>>
>>>>> Please update with any FAQ or details on the licenses.  I'd like to
>>>>> keep this page as simple as possible, while still providing essential
>>>>> detail.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tim
>>>>>
>>>>> Tim Schaub wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hey-
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Let's finish this page before fumbling around on the list with
>>>>>> license questions:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.geoext.org/trac/geoext/wiki/license
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'll start reading, but I don't know enough currently to describe the
>>>>>> situation in concise terms.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tim
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Bart van den Eijnden
>> OSGIS, Open Source GIS
>> bartvde at osgis.nl
>> http://www.osgis.nl
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Psc mailing list
>> Psc at geoext.org
>> http://www.geoext.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/psc
>>
> 


-- 
Tim Schaub
OpenGeo - http://opengeo.org
Expert service straight from the developers.