MySQL'a dual licensing has been the source of a lot of confusion for
quite a long time, and what few notes can be found at their site about
when their license requires a license doesn't help a great many people
make an appropriate determination.
I've written them to get clarification on three specific usage scenarios
that are not uncommon, and while their sales staff was quick to reply to
my interest in possibly getting a license I've not heard back from them
on whether it's actually needed in the scenarios I'm considering.
Here's an example of the confusion, from JoelOnSoftware:
<http://discuss.fogcreek.com/joelonsoftware5/default.asp?cmd=show&ixPost=155640&ixReplies=20>
This comment there tries to help sort it out:
Most of the things mentioned here are irrelevant.
Read http://www.mysql.com/products/licensing/commercial-license.html
more specifically:
"If you develop and distribute a commercial application and
as part of utilizing your application, the end-user must
download a copy of MySQL; for each derivative work, you (or,
in some cases, your end-user) need a commercial license for
the MySQL server and/or MySQL client libraries."
Unfortunately that URL no longer points to the material cited, so you
have to wade through the links there to try to find guidance on how the
license applies to a given use.
Here's a scenario I can't figure out: if I make a DB on my server using
my own proprietary code running on top of MySQL, and I sell
subscriptions to this proprietary system, do the "per seat" definitions
for MySQL licensing apply to my customers as "seats" for my DB use?
Still waiting to hear back from them on that.
It's too bad they don't make it simpler for folks to understand when
it's necessary to purchase a license and how much it will cost. It's
confusing for the market and no doubt they lose a great many sales based
on the near-ubiquitous -- if erroneous -- presumption that it's always
gratis. Free as in freedom != free as in beer. ;)
Ruslan, I couldn't find the original post you quoted. Where did this
thread originate?
It would be ironic in a discussion of copyright protection to have
material copied without permission from the author. ;)
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World Media Corporation
___________________________________________________________
[email protected] http://www.FourthWorld.com
Ruslan Zasukhin wrote:
On 2/15/09 1:41 PM, "Thorsten Hohage" <thohage at genericobjects.de> wrote:
Hi Thorsten,
This is very interesting and I should say new info for me.
I believe many times on RB and Revolution list (especially) people express
point that they can use mySQL of their ISPs for free.
Info which you provide below changes things a lots.
I will CC this to REV list for info.
But mySQL is not totally free, even when used at an ISP! Many, many
customer of ISPs go in a big trap, because they used the offered mySQL
licence from the ISP for their commercial use what is in sense of mySQL
legals not allowed.
Why you think so?
Because I read and discussed the given mySQL licence terms when
dealing with that issues (and I break them like anybody else :-))
The fact that mySQL is free for ISPs and they put them on their
servers does NOT mean everybody being a customer for such a package
can use it for free!
Of course e.g. when you're going to use let us say Joomla, then Joomla
is Open Source, too and AFAIK then your content will not be some kind
of "Open Content".
But when you develop a software using this hosted mySQL, then you must
decide PAY or Open Source it, and it doesn't matter if this is hosted
at your ISP or not.
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