Conversation started Apr 16, 2014 at 21:35.
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
Apr 16, 2014 21:35
0
Q: Confusion on Kendo UI changing licence from GPLv3 to Apache 2.0

Ankan-ZerobWhat are the problems and reasons for Kendo UI to change their licencing from GPLv3 to Apache v2.0. The reasons cited in their FAQ, according to my understanding of GPL v3 do not seem accurate, Can the community please clarify this: from : http://www.telerik.com/kendo-ui/core-faq but because...

licensing gpl apache-license
I smell an agenda.
user55340
They likely miss-worded the reason - instead of "can only be used for non-commercial projects" it should likely read "can only be used for non-proprietary projects". That said, the best people to ask about this are telerik themselves. — MichaelT 1 min ago
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
@MichaelT Yeah, but what in the GPL prevents Telerik from accepting customer contributions?
user55340
There's some less appealing patent things in the gpl v3.
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
Yeah, that would do it.
user55340
> You may not convey a covered work if you are a party to an arrangement with a third party that is in the business of distributing software, under which you make payment to the third party based on the extent of your activity of conveying the work, and under which the third party grants, to any of the parties who would receive the covered work from you, a discriminatory patent license
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
Apr 16, 2014 21:42
[sigh] My head hurts already, just from reading that one paragraph.
user55340
Paragraph? I don't see ay periods in there - thats one sentence (and there's more after it too)
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
I don't need to see it. :)
user55340
Section 11 - plain english: gplv3.fsf.org/dd3-faq
user55340
> Second, in the seventh paragraph, the draft says that you are prohibited from distributing software under GPLv3 if you make an agreement like the Microsoft-Novell deal in the future. This will prevent other distributors from trying to make other deals like it.
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
So basically, if you're in the business of enforcing your patents, the GPL is pretty much incompatible with your company.
Zeroth
Zeroth
Apr 16, 2014 21:44
...really?!
user55340
Yep. And if any of your employes contribute as part of the company work, there could be a mess.
Zeroth
Zeroth
No wonder v3 scares so many
Because that doesn't seem to exclude non-software patents
which I could see an engineering company holding and enforcing
user55340
Its one of those "do you really want to try enforcing this in court?" battles that if you lose you lose in a big way... so just don't touch GPL at all.
user55340
I'm BSD type... though sometimes I'm tempted to look at the MicroSoft Public License.
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
In other news, Kendo Core going permissive is way cool.
I never thought the GPL was a good idea for Kendo.
user55340
Apr 16, 2014 21:50
The other thing it does for them, is allows them to make some bits of their code commercial... and well, they get paid.
user55340
>
Not all Kendo UI Widgets are created equal and some, like the Grid, Scheduler and Editor, consume a great deal of engineering effort to build and maintain. Widgets such as these are complex, but they are also essential for customers building certain types of apps, and the open-source equivalents for these leave a lot to be desired. To ensure that critical widgets like the Grid, Scheduler and Editor continue to get the proper attention and focus they deserve from our engineering team, we’ve decided to offer these only with commercial Kendo UI licenses.
user55340
With an apache license its much easier to let the two parts mix.
Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey
I can live with that. It's a much better arrangement than the GPL/Commercial schism.
 
Conversation ended Apr 16, 2014 at 21:51.