Sage-Tips

Can I use AGPL software for commercial purposes?

The AGPL License permits users of the licensed code to: Use the code for commercial purposes: Like both GPL v2 and GPL v3, the AGPL imposes no conditions on using the code in software that’s sold commercially. Place warranty: Distributors of the original code can offer their own warranty on the licensed software.

Does open source software have a license?

Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the Open Source Definition — in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. To be approved by the Open Source Initiative (also known as the OSI), a license must go through the Open Source Initiative’s license review process.

What does AGPL stand for?

GNU Affero General Public License
The GNU AGPL was given version number 3 for parity with the GPL, and the current GNU Affero General Public License is often abbreviated AGPLv3. The finalized version of GNU AGPLv3 was published by the FSF on November 19, 2007.

Why do software development companies license with the AGPL?

By licensing with the AGPL, these companies ensure that no one besides themselves can monetize the project. The collateral damage in this bargain, however, is developers. Developers want to get stuff done with a minimum of overhead (be it infrastructure or lawyers).

Why does AAWS license with the AGPL?

AWS, for example, has made orders of magnitude more money from MySQL than MySQL AB (and now Oracle) ever hoped to make (through RDS). By licensing with the AGPL, these companies ensure that no one besides themselves can monetize the project. The collateral damage in this bargain, however, is developers.

What is AGPL and why does it matter?

AGPL is a way to make one’s software radically open, like dropping a nuclear bomb on someone’s lap and urging them to keep it. It’s also a way to keep the big clouds of the world from turning one’s project into their product. Small wonder, then, that some companies that license their code under the AGPL internally describe it as the “Amazon GPL.”

Can I use AGPL libraries with commercial server-side software?

If we follow the comments it turns out that you can use AGPL libraries with your closed-source, commercial server-side software, as long as you don’t modify the library. Is that the case? Or you have to distribute your entire application when you use an AGPL licensed library?