I should clarify this "licensing issue" so that users aren't misled. ChemDoodle
Web Components licensing is very compatible with Jmol.
The ChemDoodle Web Components are distributed under the GPL v3 license with a
liberal exception: http://web.chemdoodle.com/installation/license
The GPL v3 license states that anything the software is integrated with must
also be released under GPL. The liberal exception states that in the case of
non-commercial use (such as academic) the GPL license will not extend past the
ChemDoodle Web Components code. So for academics, the ChemDoodle Web Components
can be used with Jmol without any issues. The only request I have is that users
acknowledge that they use the ChemDoodle Web Components. The only case where
licensing would become an issue is for commercial use of the ChemDoodle Web
Components. In that case, the liberal exception does not apply, and the GPL
will cover everything the ChemDoodle Web Components is integrated with,
including proprietary products and Jmol. Of course, commercial institutions
will never want to do this. In this case, they always come to us for
proprietary licensing, which comes at a fee. And I think everyone agrees that
if one profits off your hard work, you deserve some compensation. Remember, our
income is fully dependent on the sales of our software. If we could not sell
our software, then we would have been required to find different jobs long ago
and this high quality product would not exist.
There is also another commercial case, where the ChemDoodle Web Components are
used for internal products that are not distributed to the public (such as a
pharmaceutical company making a private molecule browser for its own
employees). In this case, the GPL is perfectly suited for such companies as
there is no redistribution involved. Similar to a company using OpenBabel or
MySQL internally. It will not affect the licensing of Jmol.
So to make a long story short, only commercial entities that wish to profit off
the ChemDoodle Web Components will encounter licensing issues if they choose
not to GPL their product, no one else will. Academics should feel confident
using the ChemDoodle Web Components knowing that it is free and open, and also
that there is quality support and development behind the product.
Sometimes open source advocates will cry foul on our business model, but I
think it is quite hypocritical. If we were not successful, they would not say a
thing, and it is a wonderful thing that we have released our product under the
GPL license. In fact many universities use the ChemDoodle Web Components,
including Berkeley, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge. Many commercial
organizations have also licensed the ChemDoodle Web Components for use in their
proprietary products. So in many ways, choosing an alternative to the
ChemDoodle Web Components will reduce the quality of your work compared to
competing solutions. http://web.chemdoodle.com/about/more-information
That being said, we welcome any competition, it is always a good thing. It
helps to inspire us to add comparable features and to always strive to produce
the best solution. And we will always do so. For the HTML5 psuedo-3D graphics,
the only other option I know of is CanvasMol, which is unlicensed (not public
domain, you will need to get permission from the author to use it):
http://alteredqualia.com/canvasmol/
As for 2D sketcher integration, Bob, I hope you decide to use the ChemDoodle
Web Components Sketcher, as it is very little work at this point to do so, and
the quality is very high, and the licensing is no different.
Anyway, we are always open to discussion, so if anyone would like to ask us
questions, please do. We are very happy and proud of the integration of the
ChemDoodle Web Components and Jmol, and we hope many users choose to take
advantage of it.
Sincerely,
Kevin Theisen
On Jun 12, 2012, at 3:28 AM, Robert Hanson wrote:
> Now that the ChemDoodle plug-in (JmolCD.js) appears to be rock-solid, let's
> identify other possibilities.
>
> We have a plug-in for GLmol just about ready to go
> (http://webglmol.sourceforge.jp/index-en.html),
> and it would be nice to find something that is HTML5 but not WebGL for that
> side of the triangle.
> Of course, ChemDoodle handles both of those, but licensing is an issue there.
> So it would be good
> to have a few more options. Suggestions?
>
> Java (Jmol)
> /\
> / \
> / \
> / \
> /________\
> (ChemDoodle, GLmol) WebGL HTML5 (ChemDoodle, ?)
>
>
> Bob
>
> --
> Robert M. Hanson
> Larson-Anderson Professor of Chemistry
> Chair, Chemistry Department
> St. Olaf College
> Northfield, MN
> http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hansonr
>
>
> If nature does not answer first what we want,
> it is better to take what answer we get.
>
> -- Josiah Willard Gibbs, Lecture XXX, Monday, February 5, 1900
>
>
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