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Can You Be Denied the Right To Support OSS?

Posted by Soulskill on from the oss-enterprise dept.

jerico.dev writes "I am currently selecting a CM tool for a project. Important condition: the software must be OSI compliant. I considered Alfresco, since they call themselves 'open source.' Then I heard from several of Alfresco's partners that they are not allowed to do projects based on Alfresco's GPL edition because their partnership contract denied them the right to do so. They only can support Alfresco's enterprise edition. But Alfresco's VP of business development Matt Asay told me that their enterprise edition is not OSI compliant. Does anyone in the Slashdot crowd have experience with partner contracts of other OSS vendors? Is it normal that Sun, Red Hat, etc. force their partners to decline projects based on their open source editions? It's probably legal to do so, but do you think it is legitimate and fair?"

3 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. You Have NO Rights: +1, PatRIOTic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    In the United Gulags of Americae.

    Cordially,
    Kilgore Trout

  2. Re:Yep. by yttrstein · · Score: -1, Troll

    Hey excellent, some child modded me down again. Time to do what I do best with MY mod points. Thanks for reminding me!

  3. Re:Common Misunderstanding by kz45 · · Score: -1, Troll

    "All the talk out there regarding the "viral" nature of GPL code has confused a lot of otherwise very smart people. What happens is that they miss the dividing line between "the development" and "the use" of the programs."

    I think it is actually the lawsuits that "confuse" smart people. No business wants to be forced to give out any source or get a gnu compliance officer.

    If you want anyone to blame for this confusion, blame Richard Stallman for spreading GNU based software attached to the word "free", when it clearly is not.

    "It just proves the old saying the stupidity and hydrogen are the universal elements of the universe."

    Just because someone does not have your beliefs, does not make them any less intelligent than you. See: elitism.

    "And, professional, I'd run from a client like that. They strike me as paranoid enough to end up suing for a trivial reason down the road or cherry-pick advice in a manner that ensures failure of any project you would engage in for them."

    Gnu software can be a legal nightmare. Why on earth would I want to risk it?