Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer either :-) > I have tried to read the installation agreement at my > home, but since I'm not a legal expert and not quite > have a good legal "English" understanding, > I just want to ask you : > - can I use the OpenSolaris OS
The sources are free software i.e. their "use" is not contrained by any terms and condition... i.e. you can compile & use. Distribution is governed by CDDL. This is true for any distribution conforming to CDDL (i.e. all). Now, the tricky question involves the "binaries", because the binaries can have their own term and conditions eg. RHEL (binary release) is illegal to use w/o paying RH, but the sources can be compiled and distributed and used freely like CentOS derived from RHEL. Lets see the following distributions: 1. Solaris Express Community Edition (SXCE): The binary license that you need to accept before downloading it prohibits production use and distribution to third parties. and you can't sue Sun for support/damages caused if used in production. 2. Solaris Express Developer Edition (SXDE): May be licensed and used in production subject to purchasing support. Other than this, same restrictions on use of binaries apply as SXCE. 3. Belenix/Nexenta: Don't seem to put any limitation on use/distribution other than those of CDDL. i.e. you can do whatever you want as long as you provide the modifications to "files" you changed that were under CDDL. (CDDL is a file based license). So it seems the Solaris Express "binaries" are prohibited to be redistributed and from being used in production settings. So it seems you only have three (broad) choices: 1. Arrangement with Sun: I don't think they'd cause much rukus... the license is mainly concerned that people will end up using it in production and then either bad-mouth about the problems caused (It is fortnightly build for chrissake!!) and attribute it to Solaris OS in general OR end up suing Sun for problems caused. So the draconian license condition is more of a "let me save my ass first" thing. 2. Download sources and compile/build yourself. This would end up being your own distro and so you are free to use it (under terms of CDDL alone). 3. Use Nexenta/Belenix/marTux. And umm about the name & logo they are copyrighted/trademarked bvy Sun. But as with all trademarks if you attribute it properly and don't do anything nasty (like claiming that your product *is* OpenSolaris or it's owned by you) you should be ok. You can definitely use those banners & buttons and say "OpenSolaris(TM) powered" or "based on OpenSolaris(TM)". BTW, Linux name is trademarked too (by Linus) but it has been so diluted now that no one cares to sue. But of course, if you're starting a business,make sure to go through a lawyer once. The license and conditions are extremely short and concise so I don't think you'd get charged much. - Akhilesh This message posted from opensolaris.org _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list [email protected]
