maria-discuss team mailing list archive

[Paul McCullagh <paul.mccullagh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sep 4, 2009, at 2:20 AM, Arjen Lentz wrote:

> Hi Mark
>
> On 04/09/2009, at 9:25 AM, MARK CALLAGHAN wrote:
> > Back in the day there was an assertion in the MySQL internals PDF  
> > with
> > respect to the license of any client library created after reading
> > that doc. The PDF has been replaced by HTML and I don't see that  
> > claim
> > anymore. Does anyone remember this? It is here:
> > http://web.archive.org/web/20051224102135/dev.mysql.com/doc/internals/en/licensing-notice.html
> >
> > > > >
> > Because this is a GPL protocol, any product which uses it to connect
> > to a MySQL server, or to emulate a MySQL server, or to interpose
> > between any client and server which uses the protocol, or for any
> > similar purpose, is also bound by the GPL. Therefore if you use this
> > description to write a program, you must release your program as GPL.
> > Contact MySQL AB if you need clarification of these terms or if you
> > need to ask about alternative arrangements.
> > > > >
>
>
> Ye I remember it. I think I helped make it disappear, when I spotted  
> it.
> Earlier instances were in the main docs and the website and had been  
> cleaned up long before; the Internals stuff was published later.
>
> David and Monty tell me that FSF actually agrees with the above to a  
> degree, but I don't think it's a viable position.
> Declaring that a protocol is GPL is not something you want to base a  
> business on.
> The counter argument is simple: if a protocol equates to linking,  
> that means that Internet Explorer is linked to Apache.
> The defence rests ;-)

A very good point. It shows that the position is untenable.

--
Paul McCullagh
PrimeBase Technologies
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