[Psc] license faq

[Eric Lemoine]

On Friday, April 24, 2009, Tim Schaub <tschaub at opengeo.org> wrote:
> 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.

Agreed.

>
> 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.

I understand "all sections not derived from the library" as the
portions of the app that don't use rely on) Ext. Only those portions
can be licensed under any of the license listed in the exception page.
The portions that use Ext must be GPLv3.

>
> 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 paragraph just before 2.a. It says that distributing your app is
permitted if it is formed entirely of Ext and other libs that are
licensed under the listed licenses.

  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.

To sum up what I understand from the exception: with the exception you
can distribute your app if it uses only Ext and libs licensed under
one of the listed licenses, and you can also use any of the listed
license for your app code that doesn't use Ext (I.e. the standalone
code or the code that's based on the other libs).

What do you think?

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

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