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OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

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Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#61

Post by plagiarist »

dragooc wrote: post #39

With this PR https://github.com/owncloud/ocis/pull/6755 I tried to make the policy a bit more clear after we got a nice issue report about it. To be clear: only binary builds of stable versions of Infinite Scale that the ownCloud company is shipping are protected by the EULA. The source code license is Apache2 or AGPL for some parts, and is not touched by this of course. The EULA even allows free use widely, includin…

Am I reading correctly that building from source would still allow for commercial hosting contexts (subject to AGPL)? If that is the case, I don't understand how the EULA benefits anyone enough to want it.

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#62

Post by eli »

paulnpace wrote: post #54
jxdxbx wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A “license” is legal permission to do something that would otherwise be illegal, such as copy software (assuming there’s no fair use etc), or even attend a concert. Licenses are often granted as part of contracts, but need not be. Unilateral license conditions are not binding contacts, but not following them can still be unlawful. If a movie theater breaks a license term by for example playing a movie publicly withou…

This is a license agreement , so who are the parties coming to agreement?

If you're not a party to the agreement then isn't possessing the software a copyright violation?

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#63

Post by tb_technical »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #58
RobotToaster wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is the problem with the SSPL is the entire stack has to be released under the SSPL, which makes it incompatible with most other open source software, including the linux kernel.

why linux kernel?

Proprietary firmware modules

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#64

Post by pxc »

SamuelAdams wrote: post #48
KronisLV wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> basically an Anti-AWS clause to protect against the ElasticSearch/OpenSearch thing. I wonder what the best license would be for the projects that want something like this? I mean SSPL got a lot of flak. Something like BSL was regarded more positively, but also was meant for a slightly different use case.

For a while I thought it was AGPL, but after reading it it looks like there are no provisions against using the code for commercial purposes, only that if source code is used, the modified source code must also be made available to the public.

> For a while I thought it was AGPL, but after reading it it looks like there are no provisions against using the code for commercial purposes

AGPL doesn't prohibit commercial use, either. The only restriction it adds over the GPLv3 is against SaaS providers hoarding the modified sources of downstream forks.

AGPLv3, like all GNU code licenses, in fact protects commercial use. It's part of freedom 0: the right to run the code at any time, in any way, for any purpose. AGPL is actually incompatible with restrictive EULAs like this.

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#65

Post by josephcsible »

eli wrote: post #62
paulnpace wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a license agreement , so who are the parties coming to agreement?

If you're not a party to the agreement then isn't possessing the software a copyright violation?

If I buy a used computer, do I have to agree to the terms of every publisher with software on it to not break copyright law?

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#66

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

josephcsible wrote: post #65
eli wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're not a party to the agreement then isn't possessing the software a copyright violation?

If I buy a used computer, do I have to agree to the terms of every publisher with software on it to not break copyright law?

As you're neither redistributing it or copying it, copyright law is not applicable.

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#67

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

eli wrote: post #62
paulnpace wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a license agreement , so who are the parties coming to agreement?

If you're not a party to the agreement then isn't possessing the software a copyright violation?

Only if you are distributing it or making a copy. As to how you came into possession of the software without making a copy is another question.

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#68

Post by pxc »

hoistbypetard wrote: post #45
sneak wrote: post #16

So, no longer open source? Do they own copyright to all of the code that allows them to relicense it like that?

Still open source, still Apache 2. They're applying this EULA to "Some builds of stable ownCloud Infinite Scale releases provided by ownCloud GmbH" which is something you can do with any Apache 2-licensed software.

No. Software with a EULA like this is not free or open-source software. It violates freedom 0 of the fundamental software freedoms (FSF terminology) and the 'no discrimination against fields of endeavor' clause of the Open-Source Definition (OSI terminology).

Putting a restrictive EULA on a permissively licensed open-source project makes it non-free just like incorporating proprietary code.

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#69

Post by dylan604 »

plagiarist wrote: post #60
zvr wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the emphasis on modified source code. If you use some AGPL-licensed software without modifications, there are no obligations to make anything available (unless you are also distributing).

That's definitely a mistake for it to be like that, but it doesn't seem like a big problem in practice.

Why is it a mistake? If you have not modified the code, then the source code is available via the same place they received it. It sounds like you just want anyone using the code to automatically become a mirror

Re: OwnCloud Infinite Scale added EULA that prohibits commercial use [pdf]

#70

Post by hoistbypetard »

pxc wrote: post #68
hoistbypetard wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still open source, still Apache 2. They're applying this EULA to "Some builds of stable ownCloud Infinite Scale releases provided by ownCloud GmbH" which is something you can do with any Apache 2-licensed software.

No. Software with a EULA like this is not free or open-source software. It violates freedom 0 of the fundamental software freedoms (FSF terminology) and the 'no discrimination against fields of endeavor' clause of the Open-Source Definition (OSI terminology). Putting a restrictive EULA on a permissively licensed open-source project makes it non-free just like incorporating proprietary code.

You're not looking closely enough. There's no EULA on the project. There's a EULA on a specific set of binaries that are QA'd, bundled and distributed by a specific distributor associated with the project.

The project itself remains open source. You can `git clone` that source and use it under the apache 2 license, which is both free and open.

Furthermore, the development is still open, and there is still no CLA required to contribute.

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