openerp-community team mailing list archive

[Olivier Dony <odo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 10/08/2012 06:14 PM, Alexandre Leitão wrote:
>> "W. Martin Borgert" wrote:
>> 
>>> How are your modules GPL3 compliant if they are not publicly available?
>> 
>> I don't know how they handle it, but the GPL (nor AGPL3) do require 
>> publication of source code to third party. Only to actual users. See: 
>> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic
>
> Yes Martin...
> 
> But... OpenERP uses AGPL3 that says that every modification has to:
> 1 - Use AGPL3 license

True (as soon as you distribute it or use it for SaaS)

> 2 - Require publication of the code

Not exactly true.


The [A]GPL (OpenERP is AGPLv3 since v6.0) does not require you to distribute
your source code to the world, so Alistek has the right to do this.

First, the GPL only requires you to distribute your work under GPL as soon as
you distribute it, so your first right is not to distribute anything.
Then, the GPL only requires you to make the source code available to whomever
you distribute your work to, but not necessarily to anyone else. So you don't
*have to* post your source code online.
However, as the modules are under GPL, anyone who got them is allowed to
re-distribute them however they like, including to post them on OpenERP Apps...

BTW, as OpenERP has moved to the AGPLv3 license since v6.0, any module that is
written for OpenERP 6.0 or later must be distributed under AGPLv3, rather than
GPLv3. Many people seem to ignore this fact.

As for the difference, AGPLv3 only adds one extra condition (section 13) to
GPLv3: you also need to make the source code of your work available to anyone
that interacts with it through a computer network (typically if you run/sell
your work in SaaS mode).

This is the official licensing policy of OpenERP.

If you'd like more gory details on what the AGPLv3 means, please have a look at
the very comprehensive GPL FAQ: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
Some of the relevant questions:
 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney
 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLRequireAvailabilityToPublic
 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#AGPLv3InteractingRemotely

And the actual text of the AGPLv3 license (it's not *that* long ;-)):
  http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html

Hope this helps...