On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 01:33:01PM +0200, Michal Schorm wrote:
Hello,
I'd like a review of 'MariaDB Business Source License (BSL)'. Here is a specific instance of the license: https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/MaxScale/blob/24.02/licenses/LICENSE2... Here is FAQ about it: https://mariadb.com/bsl-faq-mariadb/
TL;DR: the license says it's non-free, but it becomes free (GPL in this case) after a specific time.
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BUSL-1.1 is already listed as 'not-allowed' in Fedora:
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/legal/not-allowed-licenses/ https://gitlab.com/fedora/legal/fedora-license-data/-/blob/main/data/BUSL-1....
For the time window that the code is under BUSL-1.1, it is non-free.
When the timeout in BUSL-1.1 triggers, the BUSL-1.1 ceases to apply to the code. The code becomes covered by GPL-2.0. IIUC, after that point in time, it would be allowed in Fedora but being listed as GPL-2.0-or-later in the spec, rather than BUSL-1.1.
IOW, it would all depend on the date listed in the license for the specific version you want to add to Fedora.
Apart from this specific case, I'd like to hear your guidance in similar cases in general - whether they are mostly accepted or rather avoided (by Fedora), as more licenses with this idea exists, e.g.: https://github.com/getsentry/sentry/blob/master/LICENSE.md
I'd assume the precedent set by denying BUSL is followed for licenses with similar conceptual rules.
With regards, Daniel