Re: License clarification: BSD vs MIT

From: David Fetter <david(at)fetter(dot)org>
To: Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us>
Cc: Dave Page <dpage(at)pgadmin(dot)org>, Devrim GÜNDÜZ <devrim(at)gunduz(dot)org>, pgsql-hackers(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: License clarification: BSD vs MIT
Date: 2009-10-26 02:57:25
Message-ID: 20091026025725.GD4736@fetter.org
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On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 10:48:02PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> David Fetter <david(at)fetter(dot)org> writes:
> > On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 11:34:28PM +0100, Dave Page wrote:
> >> It's not a perfect match to MIT, but it is close. We (-core) are
> >> already actively working on this issue to find the most appropriate
> >> way forward.
>
> > Legally speaking, what are the issues at hand here?
>
> None really: the Postgres license is what it is. This discussion is
> just about what is the simplest description of it. Red Hat has decided
> that it fits in their "MIT" pigeonhole better than it fits in their
> "BSD" pigeonhole. If you compare the OSI definitions of these licenses:
> http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php
> http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
> our wording is not a terribly exact match to either, but RH's lawyers
> think it's closer to MIT.

Not being any kind of attorney, and assuming the Red Hat lawyers
are pretty much on our side, I'll just say we're more MIT-like, or
2-clause BSD if the former causes confusion. Thanks! :)

Cheers,
David.
--
David Fetter <david(at)fetter(dot)org> http://fetter.org/
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