[Asterisk-Dev] Re: New JAVA application server for Asterisk - OrderlyCalls

[Matt King]

Hello Adam, Matt King <m at orderlysoftware.com> writes:

>> I am familiar with the OSI definitiion.  I've read it again, but I
>> can't work out exactly how asking for permission contravenes this
>> definition.
>  
>
Then Adam wrote:
> "6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
>
> The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program
> in a specific field of endeavor.  For example, it may not restrict
> the program from being used in a business..."
>
>  http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php
>
>  - a

Well the full text of section 6 reads as follows: 

----------------

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a 
specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program 
from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

Rationale: The major intention of this clause is to prohibit license 
traps that prevent open source from being used commercially. We want 
commercial users to join our community, not feel excluded from it.

----------------

I believe that 'field of endeavour' means quite a broad spectrum of activity, such as 'business' or 'genetic research'.  It's certainly *not* our intent to discriminate in this way, and I don't think the very specific usage requirements in the licence file could be taken to mean that we're discriminating against any particular field of endeavour.

We're certainly *not* intending to prohibit commercial use of OrderlyCalls - indeed we have chosen the LGPL specifically to *encourage* commercial use.

We are open to suggestion on this issue, so if you've got a way forward I'd love to hear about it, but in the meantime I'd like to repeat my request to move this discussion off the Asterisk lists and onto a more appropriate forum (such as orderlycalls-general at lists.sourceforge.net), as I feel like we're bugging the readers here with unnecessary detail.  This will therefore be my last post to the Asterisk lists on this issue until a way forward has been agreed.

Respectfully yours,

Matt King, M.A. Oxon.
Managing Director, Orderly Software Ltd.