On 3/24/2017 11:53 AM, russell.lemas...@comcast.net wrote: > I'm just getting started with Solr (6.4.2) and am trying to get > approval for usage in my workplace. I know that the product in general > is licensed as Apache 2.0, but unfortunately there are packages > included in the build that are considered "non-permissive" by my > company and as such, means that I am having trouble getting things > approved. It appears that the vast majority of the licensing issues > are within the contrib directory. I know these provide significant > functionality for Solr, but I was wondering if there is an official > build that contains just the Solr and Lucene server distribution > (minus demos and contrib). Some of the packages are dual licensed so I > am able to deal with that by selecting which we wish to use, but there > are some that are either not licensed at all or are only > non-permissive (ie: not Apache, BSD, MIT, etc.) like GPL, CDDL, etc.
The big questions, which Hoss already mentioned: What modules in Solr do you need where the license is unacceptable, where are you looking to confirm that the unacceptable license applies, and why are those particular licenses unacceptable? If something is included with Solr, then it's almost guaranteed that one of the licenses for it will be compatible with the Apache 2.0 license, and perfectly acceptable to use in a commercial setting. The Apache Software Foundation takes licenses seriously, and the Lucene/Solr project is no exception. The GPL is an example of something that is not compatible with the Apache license. This means that if something is ONLY licensed under the GPL, including it with Solr is not allowed, and we need to remove it. Some of the libraries used by Solr's dependenciesare licensed under the LGPL, which IS compatible with Apache 2.0. The CDDL is mentioned in Apache's legal area as an acceptable license for binary inclusion in an Apache project. It will not conflict with the Apache license. This is particularly important with Solr, because if you're not OK with the CDDL, you basically can't run Solr at all. The Java Servlet API is licensed CDDL. This API is necessary in order to create a servlet application, which is what Solr is. https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html#category-b Thanks, Shawn
