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916c0553e164269 | 6 months ago | on: OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Postgres community

> since postgres would need to include the Apache license

imho: given that postgres has many corporate forks and contributors from different companies, mixing apache 2.0 and postgresql licenses isn’t ideal - it complicates the legal picture and can even block upstream acceptance.

And if supabase's goal is really this [1], then it makes sense to think through the legal side now and start consulting with the upstream Postgres community early.

[1] https://supabase.com/blog/orioledb-patent-free#aligned-with-...

"We believe the right long-term home for OrioleDB is inside Postgres itself. Our north star is to upstream what’s necessary so that OrioleDB can eventually be part of the Postgres source tree, developed and maintained in the open alongside the rest of Postgres."

916c0553e164269 | 6 months ago | on: OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Postgres community

This change looks much better, thanks!

> "It is now Apache 2.0 which grants patent rights and can be re-licensed to PostgreSQL when the code is upstreamed."

It’s worth double-checking the relicensing angle. Imho: you can only relicense your own code. Any 3rd party contribution stays under apache 2.0 unless the author explicitly agrees.

So a full switch to postgresql license is only possible if every contributor signs off. That usually means having a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) in place up front.

And ethically, contributors should already know their work might be relicensed under "postgresql terms" later - otherwise it's a surprise change for the community.

ps: if the plan is serious, do the legal homework early and gather consents now, so upstreaming to postgresql doesn’t fail later because a few open-source contributors (who aren’t supabase/orioledb employees) are unreachable.)

916c0553e164269 | 6 months ago | on: OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Postgres community

Apache 2.0 has a better patent clause - against hostile IP claims, so tax dispute is not terminate the OrioleDB license:

"If You institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed."

https://opensource.org/license/apache-2-0

916c0553e164269 | 6 months ago | on: OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Postgres community

from the blog: "The patent is intended as a shield, not a sword, to protect Open Source from hostile IP claims."

vs. the current license:

  "IF ANY LITIGATION IS INSTITUTED AGAINST SUPABASE, INC. BY A LICENSEE OF THIS SOFTWARE, THEN THE LICENSE GRANTED TO SAID LICENSEE SHALL TERMINATE AS OF THE DATE SUCH LITIGATION IS FILED."
( https://github.com/orioledb/orioledb/blob/main/LICENSE )

imho: the current wording might discourage state organisations, since even a trivial lawsuit (e.g. a minor tax delay) could terminate the licence - perhaps a narrower patent-focused clause would work better (or an OSI-approved licence?).

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