Has anyone looked into the product by www.hype ric.com before?

[Flak Magnet]

On Tuesday 25 May 2004 04:38 am, Ben Clewett wrote:
> Ton,
>
> Just a comment.  I had an argument in some depth with MySQL about why
> they force people to buy there product.  My understanding is, and I hope
> other people will correct me:
>
> You can't sell GPL as-is.
>
> You can sell support licenses, installation, the hardware it sits on,
> configuration, help, the box and CD's it comes in.  But not the program.
>
> MySQL *claim* you can sell GPL code if a you extend the product and sell
> the result.  Therefore breaking the GPL.  You are effectively buy a
> license which revokes the GPL for your specific case.

It doesn't revoke the GPL, you can still use the code for MySQL as it is 
licensed to one-and-all under the GPL.

What MySQL is selling, is an additional license, once that gives you the right 
to modify and sell MySQL code WITHOUT giving your modifications back as is 
required by the GPL.

As I understand it, the is perfectly acceptable according to the terms of the 
GPL, as the MySQL folks still own their code and can grant anyone they want 
any license they see fit.  What they cannot do, is demand that everyone STOPS 
using thier code that has been released under the GPL.  They could, however, 
make any future releases closed source so long as any contributors agreed.

In a later message it has been written:

>What I really meant therefore was: Â You can't *force* people to pay for 
>GPL code. Â Accept for model MySQL have adopted.

And MySQL isn't forcing people to pay for GPL code...  They are charging 
people for the priviledge of using their code, that happens to be GPL'ed, in 
ways that do not folllow the terms of the GPL.  

What is being paid for is a license to use the code, a license that is totally 
independant from the GPL.  Completely acceptable, both by the terms of the 
GPL as well as ethically (IMO).

So, we're talking about two different, but peacefully co-existant licenses:
1.  The world at large has a license to use the MySQL code according to the 
terms of the GPL.  
2.  Whomever pays for it can have a license to use MySQL code according to 
whatever terms they negotiate with MySQL, which may include modifying the 
code without giving the modifications back.


-- 

-- Tim "Flak Magnet"
http://geocities.com/flakmagnet72/
Never explain --- your friends do not need it 
and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
— Elbert Hubbard



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