Saturday, September 16, 2006
HPL version 1.0 is here
A month ago, I proposed a new license, called the Honest Public License (HPL). It is GPL v2 with an additional paragraph, clarifying that distribution of software as a service is exactly the same as distribution of software in a floppy. Therefore, GPL applies also when the software is used to provide a service to the public.I left the license out for review for a month. I received a ton of comments on this blog and in many blogs and articles around the net. Evidently, I touched a nerve ;-) The feedback has been universally positive (and I have to admit I have been quite surprised). The only real negative comment I heard has been "yet another license". It is true, it is yet another license. But it changes the most important element of computing that was not covered in GPL, because it was written in 1991 when software was distributed in floppies and nobody knew what SaaS meant. For everything else, GPL is just fine. SaaS is the future of computing: HPL is just another incredibly important license ;-)
Anyway, here you find HPL 1.0 and here you find the diff between HPL and GPL v2. As I wrote a month ago, our next step is to have HPL disappear within GPL v3. That process is ongoing and I have no control on, so let's wait and see.
Regarding Funambol, we have decided to leave the clients on GPL v2 (no reason to change them to HPL, since there is no SaaS on clients). HPL will clearly end up in the incompatibility list of GPL, as AGPL before it (a license that tried to fix the same issue, but in a pretty "strong" way), so we would prefer people to be able to link clients based on GPL code. On the server side, to build SyncSources, you will have to use HPL. HPL affects every SyncSource, but it does not affect the product you are connecting the SyncSource to (if you talk to it with a separate protocol). Therefore, the impact should be minimal. Because of dual licensing, Funambol could also grant a special waiver for open source projects that cannot switch the SyncSource to HPL. Just give us a buzz. More to come in the new site after the launch of v 3.0 GA (very soon!).
I want to thank Patrick, Markus, Tomasz and Kari for the precious help in the review process. I just do not know what I would do without a community of people working on the project (wait, I know, I would be doing something else like opening a restaurant in Maui, probably called Funambol Italian Restaurant. THAT would be fun :-)
Posted by Fabrizio at 22:23
10 Comments:
Tomasz Mazurek said...
Great to know that the license is here. I've stopped reading the blog and missed this publication when it was made, still I want to let you know I'm very glad about the license.
I will most probably use it license for my own project Astariand Online RPG. I hope somebody will read that post at all, as I'm adding it like 2 months after the article.
Comment Posted at 08:11
Fabrizio said...
Hi Tomasz,
I do ;-) Happy to hear you like the license and you are planning to use it. Let me know how it works.
BTW, I want to play too.
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 11:51
Ben Stewart said...
Hi,
I have just taken a look at your license, and I am a little confused. I think what you are trying to do is to stop ASP's from taking the community edition, charging people the equiv of full license (ie. not making it freely available) and nopt contributing anything back to the community. Is that right ? can you please clarrify in plain english exactly what we can and can not do with community edition of the software.
Licensing in this market is a little bit of a mess and very confusing. I appreciate that you are trying to add some clarity to this situation, and your efforts are to be aplauded.
Cheers.
Ben
Comment Posted at 17:36
Fabrizio said...
Hi Ben,
with the Community Edition:
CAN DO:
1. use it internally without distributing it to the public
2. distribute it to the public but returning modifications and everything around it to the community
CANNOT DO:
1. distribute it to the public without returning modifications and everything around it to the community
If you do not like this limitation, you have the option to buy a license from Funambol and you will not be required to return anything to the community.
I hope it is clear.
Cheers,
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 11:13
techArtist said...
There seem to be a contradiction in your comments. On one hand you say SyncSources need not be released back to community, on the other hand you say "everything around your server" needs to be released. Can you define what you mean by "everything around it" please. For example, if I made no modification to the funambol server, but simply run communications between it and my own software service/program via its published protocols, can I sell the service commercially without giving away my own software that simply communicates with your server over the network? Also, when a small change was made in funambol server and released to the community, does it still require to also release the software that communicates with it over the network? Where is the borderline of "everything around it", it has to stop somewhere. So, please define clearly where that line is.
Comment Posted at 16:21
Fabrizio said...
Hello,
I would say that speaking to our server via SyncML does not trigger the open source requirement. That is, if you use a SyncML client that is not based on our client technology, you do not have to release it in open source.
Hope it helps,
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 20:03
Hi..I would like to ask the same question asked earlier but in more plain English.
If a "web hosting company" takes community edition of Funambol and install it and give its users a paid service using the software, Will they need to buy commercial license?
** This is just plain simple "using" the software not developing the software or integrating anything to it and changing the code ***
I have read the license and says that you have to contribute the "code" back to community, but to "use" the software as-is there is no code to be given.
So can a hosting company use the open source version of software and give its user mobile services without paying Funambol.
Thanks
Tarun
Comment Posted at 14:15
Fabrizio said...
Hi Tarun,
sure, as long as you return any changes and connectors to the community.
Keep also in mind that the Carrier Edition of Funambol has a lot of additional software targeted to the companies that want to use Funambol hosted for others (not internal use as in an enterprise): that includes for example scalability to the millions of users, a user portal, a customer support interface, OTA delivery of the apps, phone packs to keep up with the market of devices and support from Funambol... Not a small feat. You need all of this if your goal is to have a successful deployment with tons of users.
Once again, if you are an enterprise and you want to use the Community Edition in-house, go for it. That's a complete different story. The Carrier Edition is only for those that host to the public with lots of users.
Cheers,
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 14:32
Thanks for the quick reply: This is what I understand.
1) If we write our own code ie: create our own portal/control panel to integrate with our business using Funambol API and this “portal/control panel” is used by our customer who pay us for this service. We will have to contribute the source to the community..we have no problem with that, we would like to do that.
2) If our paid users are happy with the open source functionality of Funambol and scalability is not an issue (each customer has its own server with their own user base). We don’t need to “buy” any license just because we selling service based on Funambol open source server/software
Thanks
Tarun
Comment Posted at 15:47
Fabrizio said...
Hi Tarun,
paying or not paying does not make a difference. The AGPL license triggers either way. Make sure all your contributions are back to the community (including the connectors and what you are connecting to) and you are good to go.
Clearly, we like you to become a customer down the road and we hope you will need us, either for the additional software we provide or for support.
Cheers,
fabrizio
