[Asterisk-biz] copyright --may I use it for commercial business

[Roderick Montgomery]

Nicolás Gudiño wrote:
> 
> Thinking about this... If he modifies asterisk and adds great features, 
> bug fixes, etc, and distribute his version, he must release it under the 
> GPL or purchase a commercial license from Digium. That's fine.
> 
> *But* if Digium don't have the disclaimer from him, then it will be 
> actually a fork because those great changes cannot be incorporated back 
> into the Digium branch... don't they?

Yes, but redistributing those improvements will be subject to GPL, also. 
It's a code fork, not a license fork.


> Another question, can a forked asterisk version be relicensed as LGPL or 
> similar licenses?

No -- the only way you can get Asterisk in a license outside the GPL is to 
negotiate a commercial license directly from Digium. All patches and 
improvements that have been incorporated into Asterisk have been 
disclaimed to Digium, so contributors have no claim to the commercial, 
non-GPL licensing revenue that Digium earns. Small price to pay for free 
software, if you ask me.

I've not personally investigated the terms of a commercial license from 
Digium, but I'd presume the terms are prohibitive of relicensing and 
redistribution. Which means you couldn't buy a non-GPL commercial license 
from Digium then begin selling commercial licenses yourself, or 
redistributing under LGPL, BSD, or other license. It's intended for 
companies that want to redistribute Asterisk code as binaries only, 
integrated into other software or bundled with hardware, without having 
their improvements be subject to the GPL.

Imagine Linksys buying a commercial Asterisk license to run micro-pbx 
services on home voice routers... Imagine IAX becoming a dominant VoIP 
protocol after a large manufacturer licenses Asterisk for integration in 
their products... the commercial licensing options open all sorts of great 
possibilities. I doubt companies would be willing to subject their 
software to the GPL if the companies were unable to recoup their 
development investment.

The reasoning behind dual-licensing is solid: it gives the opensource 
community a wonderful platform under generous licensing terms, and it also 
gives commercial organizations a way to invest in and spread Asterisk 
without divulging the source to their improvements. Commercial licensing 
also sends some cash Digium's way, which promotes the health of the entire 
venture (including the opensource software). As I understand it, many 
improvements that commercial customers have requested and/or funded have 
been folded back into Asterisk, which also benefits everyone.

I truly admire the business models that Digium, MySQL, RedHat, etc. have 
pioneered to find viable ways to build a business on opensource software.

Read http://www.digium.com/index.php?menu=licensing

rm
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  Roderick Montgomery   rod at thecomplex.com   <URL:http://thecomplex.com/>
the fool stands only to fall, but the wise trip on grace... [Sarah Masen]
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