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Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

blog.min.io

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Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#81

Post by kaladin-jasnah »

lsbehe wrote: post #23
bradwood wrote: post #3

They use a load of other FOSS software under the hood too, not least of which libvirt/KVM. I wonder how many other licences they're violating this way.

libvirt uses LGPL and the KVM/linux kernel uses GPL. Both are fine to keep to yourself if you run it on your own machine and only expose it over the network. MinIO uses AGPL which explicitly includes network usage so Nutanix is forced to provide all patches and associated code.

Nutanix distributes their AHV hypervisor to clients so the GPL would apply, I think.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#82

Post by Jolter »

bayesian_horse wrote: post #77
Jolter wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, revoke the license. That means they are no longer permitted to redistribute the code. If they then continue to redistribute it, they are committing a copyright violation. That’s when there is cause for a lawsuit.

They aren't redistributing it at all, only using it.

I’m pretty sure when the license is revoked, that includes the license for using it as well.

The article doesn’t seem to state if they are redistributing it or not, but I’ll take your word for it. Without being a user of the infringing product, I’m not able to tell whose premises the server they SSH’d into is on.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#83

Post by acatton »

Aeolun wrote: post #60
acatton wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is the AGPL not welcoming?[1] [1] https://drewdevault.com/2020/07/27/Anti-AGPL-propaganda.html

> Any derivative works of AGPL-licensed software must also use the AGPL. It’s a viral license. It infects everything it touches.

Not if you just deploy it as is, like a service. (which it's intended to) If you write an application which uses MinIO over HTTP, you have no obligation to release your application code.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#84

Post by manictothemax »

Nutanix Objects does not use minio in the core data path. The presence of a binary in a kubernetes pod doesn't necessarily mean that the binary is being used or the fact that nutanix objects is nothing but a wrapper over minio. Earlier implementations did use minio purely as a S3 protocol adapter, i.e a protocol translator from S3 API to Nutanix internal storage protocol. This was something that was publicly acknowledged : https://blocksandfiles.com/2019/11/07/nutanix-objects-storag...

However, in later releases they seemed to have replaced the minio based protocol adapter to something that they developed in-house in C++ and have no longer using minio in their protocol stack.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#85

Post by rvnx »

seqizz wrote: post #59
d3nj4l wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to do something legal, yet morally wrong?

It's possible. But there is nothing immoral here.

External impression, not facts, but intuition seeing how some VCs and startups are acting:

He didn't seem to have a real choice, maybe an illusion of choice since (from an external point of view) as he was pinned against the wall.

They were using his software commercially and even using the trademark of Salvatore (he was complaining about such uses occasionally). He was broke, I guess that's why he didn't register the trademark. Literally while they raised 40M USD, he was explaining struggling on this board:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12506743

This is actually one year after the first Redis Labs deal :/ Totally not the speech of someone with a multi-million exit in sight.

Fast-forward several years later: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19203596 (with already >1B valuation)

If Salvatore just got 10% of the company he would get 100M+ USD. 1%: 10M+ USD.

Something must have happened.

If I'm wrong and he is super rich, then it's my mistake, but in general it's incredibly easy to get screwed up in a hostile shareholding / corporate environment when in front of you you have experienced lawyers and bankers.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#87

Post by kevingadd »

throwaway48423 wrote: post #86

our organization was using Minio as an external S3 replacement and had contacted their sales once. When a decision was made to not go for the paid plan, we were legally threatened saying that we cannot even make remote calls to a AGPL software.

That's kind of the point of the AGPL

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#88

Post by garettmd »

chris_wot wrote: post #24

Nutanix makes a big song and dance about their ethics. https://www.nutanix.com/viewer?type=pdf&path=/content/dam/nu... Looks like it's just there for show.

I mean, to be fair, having a Code of [Conduct|Ethics] is table-stakes for any company smaller than a small startup. This is far from a song and dance, but just checking off a box.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#89

Post by jonhohle »

manictothemax wrote: post #84

Nutanix Objects does not use minio in the core data path. The presence of a binary in a kubernetes pod doesn't necessarily mean that the binary is being used or the fact that nutanix objects is nothing but a wrapper over minio. Earlier implementations did use minio purely as a S3 protocol adapter, i.e a protocol translator from S3 API to Nutanix internal storage protocol. This was something that was publicly acknowle…

Whether they use it or not is irrelevant if they are distributing it.

Re: Nutanix Objects violates MinIO’s open source license

#90

Post by y4m4b4 »

manictothemax wrote: post #84

Nutanix Objects does not use minio in the core data path. The presence of a binary in a kubernetes pod doesn't necessarily mean that the binary is being used or the fact that nutanix objects is nothing but a wrapper over minio. Earlier implementations did use minio purely as a S3 protocol adapter, i.e a protocol translator from S3 API to Nutanix internal storage protocol. This was something that was publicly acknowle…

Nutanix does not carry EULA or reference even today while continuing to use it.

Read Apache v2 attribution clauses.

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