Fair Code

ChatGPT summary of the 6 fair-code licenses listed on faircode.io on 2024-11-11

The six fair-code licenses you've listed are often used by companies to maintain a balance between open-source principles and commercial protection. These licenses aim to encourage community contributions and open use, while imposing specific restrictions on commercial exploitation. Let's dive into each license and understand the key differences:

1. Business Source License (BSL)

• Website: MariaDB BSL
• Key Concept:
  • Delayed Open Source: The BSL allows a project to be closed-source for a certain period (e.g., 3 years), after which it automatically converts to an OSI-approved open-source license (often GPL or Apache).
• Commercial Restriction:
  • During the initial period, the BSL allows free usage for non-commercial purposes but requires a commercial license for production use beyond certain limits.
• Customization:
  • The license terms allow the author to specify a change date, after which the software becomes fully open source.
• Target Use Case:
  • Allows companies to recoup development costs while eventually releasing software as fully open. Used often for databases like MariaDB.

2. Commons Clause with Any OSI-Approved License

• Website: Commons Clause
• Key Concept:
  • Additional Restriction Layer: The Commons Clause is an addendum that can be applied to any OSI-approved open-source license (e.g., Apache, MIT).
  • It prevents users from selling the software on its own.
• Commercial Restriction:
  • Restricts selling or offering the software as part of a commercial SaaS offering.
  • Maintains open access to code, but prevents direct commercial monetization without permission.
• Compatibility:
  • Since it restricts selling, the result is no longer open-source by the OSI definition.
• Target Use Case:
  • Suitable for projects that want to limit competition from for-profit companies while remaining mostly accessible to users and developers.

3. Confluent Community License (CCL)

• Website: Confluent Community License
• Key Concept:
  • Source-Available but with restrictions on certain use cases.
• Commercial Restriction:
  • Limits use in building a competing SaaS offering. Specifically, you can't use the software to provide a commercially competing service.
  • You can use, modify, and distribute the software as long as it’s not used to compete with Confluent’s business (e.g., offering managed Apache Kafka).
• Target Use Case:
  • Protects the creator from direct competition while still encouraging contributions and community use.

4. Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2)

• Website: Elastic License 2.0
• Key Concept:
  • Source-Available with limited restrictions.
• Commercial Restriction:
  • Prohibits providing the software as a managed service or using it to circumvent licensing in a way that competes with Elastic’s commercial offerings.
  • Allows other use cases, including modifications, development, and self-hosted deployments.
• Simplification:
  • ELv2 is a simplified version of their earlier license. It specifically tries to address the concerns with providing a managed competing service without overly restricting other uses.
• Target Use Case:
  • Meant to allow widespread usage, modification, and even commercial distribution, but restricts SaaS competitors who want to offer Elastic’s technology without partnering with them.

5. Server Side Public License (SSPL)

• Website: MongoDB SSPL
• Key Concept:
  • Requires that anyone offering the software as a service must open-source all software that is required to operate the service.
• Commercial Restriction:
  • You can use, modify, and distribute the software freely, but if you offer it as a service, you must open-source not only the changes to the software but also all the infrastructure and supporting software.
• Criticism:
  • Due to the conditions it imposes on SaaS, SSPL is not recognized as open-source by the OSI.
• Target Use Case:
  • Designed for software like MongoDB to prevent cloud providers from profiting by offering it as a hosted service without contributing to the broader ecosystem.

6. Sustainable Use License (SUL)

• Website: n8n Sustainable Use License
• Key Concept:
  • Aimed at encouraging sustainable community use while preventing exploitation by large, for-profit entities.
• Commercial Restriction:
  • The Sustainable Use License allows individuals and companies to use and modify the software but prevents large-scale, direct monetization by corporations without compensation to the author.
  • The license is flexible and includes clauses that limit specific types of commercial use, generally those involving offering the software as a hosted service.
• Open Access:
  • The source code is available for inspection, modification, and contributions, but certain usages (particularly around SaaS) require negotiating a commercial license.
• Target Use Case:
  • Primarily intended for projects like n8n (a workflow automation tool), which want to maintain a balance between community accessibility and commercial sustainability.

Key Differences in Summary

Which License Should You Choose?

• If you want eventual open source, consider BSL.
• If you want to prevent the software from being sold directly, use Commons Clause.
• If you’re concerned about SaaS competition, Confluent Community License, Elastic License, or SSPL may be best, depending on how restrictive you want to be.
• If your goal is sustainable use with a focus on preventing exploitation by large players without fully locking down the code, Sustainable Use License may be the right fit.

These licenses all take different approaches to strike a balance between community collaboration and commercial protection, making them suitable for different types of projects based on your desired level of openness and control over commercial usage.

References

• https://faircode.io