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MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

processmechanics.com

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Re: MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

#4

Post by appleflaxen »

I don't understand the line of reasoning. Can anyone give me a lay explanation?

My understanding of the license change is basically "if you use MongoDB to support any site, all software higher in the stack needs to be released as well".

Is that accurate?

If so, why can't an author make this part of the license?

Re: MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

#6

Post by microtonal »

kstrauser wrote: post #2

Absolutely. This license change takes it completely out of the contention for anything I would have previously considered it for. Can you imagine if Nginx said you had to release any software you run behind it as FOSS?

And then what? The owner of the code is entitled to license the software as they want it [1]. If you dislike the license, then use a different program or fork the last version before the license change.

I can fully understand the frustration of pro-copyleft developers and companies that want to use copyleft for a 'share or pay model'. Cloud computing makes existing licenses toothless by moving the software from the client to the server, thereby avoiding distribution. It can be argued that such use is not in the spirit of copyleft and is effectively a loophole from the perspective of copyleft licensing.

It is not surprising that people try to make new copyleft licenses that fill that loophole. This may not be the best formulation, but it is definitely much better than the Commons Clause nonsense that was hyped a couple of weeks ago (which makes software proprietary).

[1] Whether it is enforceable is another issue.

Re: MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

#7

Post by geofft »

appleflaxen wrote: post #4

I don't understand the line of reasoning. Can anyone give me a lay explanation? My understanding of the license change is basically "if you use MongoDB to support any site, all software higher in the stack needs to be released as well". Is that accurate? If so, why can't an author make this part of the license?

Not quite—if you offer MongoDB itself as a service, then yes. If you just use it on the backend, no.

(Read the license and consult your lawyer for details, of course.)

Re: MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

#8

Post by nevi-me »

appleflaxen wrote: post #4

I don't understand the line of reasoning. Can anyone give me a lay explanation? My understanding of the license change is basically "if you use MongoDB to support any site, all software higher in the stack needs to be released as well". Is that accurate? If so, why can't an author make this part of the license?

No. If you take MongoDB and offer it as SaaS, the additional software that's part of your offering, such as monitoring, backup solutions, etc, have to be open-sourced, or you have to make their code available (since the chair of OSI defines what's open source).

Re: MongoDB's Server Side Public License Is Likely Unenforceable

#9

Post by VanL »

appleflaxen wrote: post #4

I don't understand the line of reasoning. Can anyone give me a lay explanation? My understanding of the license change is basically "if you use MongoDB to support any site, all software higher in the stack needs to be released as well". Is that accurate? If so, why can't an author make this part of the license?

Quick summary:

1) It is problematic to use copyright infringement as a hammer to force people to release/relicense code that is not related to the copyrighted code. (That's the "misuse" bit)

2) If you try to do this via contract, there are lots of practical difficulties associated with actually releasing the code - the biggest of which is that you probably don't own all the code you would be required to release. (That's the "impracticability" bit)

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