Docu/BB-Licensing-Policy.odc

The BlackBox Component Builder Licensing Policy

Beginning with release 1.5, the BlackBox Component Builder ("BlackBox") is an open source product. The complete source code, documentation, and files required to build the product are available for download from our web site at www.oberon.ch.

Our open source license is closely based on Sleepycat Software's Berkeley DB Open Source License (a.k.a. "The Sleepycat License", www.sleepycat.com).

The open source license permits you to use BlackBox at no charge under the condition that if you use the software in an application you redistribute, the complete source code for your application must be made available and freely redistributable under reasonable conditions. If you do not want to release the source code for your application, you may purchase a special license from Oberon microsystems, Inc. For pricing information, or if you have further questions and comments on licensing, please contact us at the following address:

Oberon microsystems, Inc.
Technoparkstrasse 1
CH-8005 Zьrich
Switzerland

Net: info@oberon.ch
Tel: +41 (0) 44 445 17 51
Fax: +41 (0) 44 445 17 52


TheBlackBoxComponentBuilderOpenSourceLicense


What does "redistribute" mean?

The term "redistribution" in the BlackBox Open Source License means your application is distributed to one or more third parties. Giving an application to customers, even in alpha or beta releases, is redistribution. Giving contractors, affiliates, parent organizations or subsidiaries, business partners or support vendors a copy of the application is generally redistribution.

The following are not redistribution:
 Building an application for use internal or external to your organization, deployed and managed on your organization's clients or servers.
 Building a web service on top of BlackBox and making it available.
 Off-site backups or other software archival procedures.

Whether or not you charge money for your application does not matter. The only test is if you redistribute it.


What does "using the Software" mean?

We say that a program A uses program B if B must be present and satisfy its specification for A to satisfy its specification. In other words, B must be present and operate correctly for A to operate correctly. This definition goes back to David Lorge Parnas.


What must I release as open source?

Under the BlackBox Open Source License, you must release the complete source code for the application that uses BlackBox. You do not need to release the source code for components that are generally installed on the operating system on which your application runs, such as system header files or libraries.


What open source license should I use?

Licenses recognized by opensource.org meet the Oberon microsystems, Inc. requirements of "freely redistributable under reasonable conditions."

Of course, releasing an application which uses BlackBox under an open source license does not change the requirements of the BlackBox Open Source License, and the BlackBox source code remains subject to the terms of the BlackBox Open Source License governing its use and redistribution. Sleepycat's open source license, on which BlackBox's open source license is based, is compatible with the GPL, so GPL'ed software can use BlackBox without violating the terms of either license.


Who owns the BlackBox Component Builder?

All source code (current and future) that is included in the BlackBox is the intellectual property of Oberon microsystems, Inc. Contributions to the source base (including error corrections) will only be accepted if their ownership is granted to Oberon microsystems, Inc. Third party contributions will be acknowledged with comments in the source code. If we allowed contributions that we did not own, we would not have the right to offer special licenses for our paying customers.


What if some contributors want to help but do not want to grant source code ownership to Oberon microsystems, Inc.?

They can develop such code, and redistribute their own version of BlackBox as long as they stick to the BlackBox Open Source License. Oberon microsystems, Inc. is unable to integrate those changes into its BlackBox distribution though. If you want your code contributions to be part of the distribution provided by Oberon microsystems, Inc., you need to transfer ownership of the source code to Oberon microsystems, Inc. There is no guarantee that Oberon microsystems, Inc. will include unsolicited contributions in its distribution of the software.