Building closed-source applications with OpenGeo Suite
At OpenGeo, we get lots of questions regarding licensing. The truth is that open source licenses are varied, broad, sometimes confusing, and are definitely not all created equal. We’ve written about licensing before on this blog, but there is of course more to say.
One question we get often from both prospective and current clients is:
Can a company that does not want to open their source code use the OpenGeo Suite?
Short answer
Yes.
Longer answer
The OpenGeo Suite is licensed GPL v2. This license applies to all flavors of the OpenGeo Suite (Community, Enterprise, Cloud, etc.). The components of the OpenGeo Suite use the following licenses:
- PostGIS: GPL v2 (Source)
- GeoServer: GPL v2 (Source)
- GeoTools: LGPL (Source)
- GeoWebCache: LGPL (Source)
- OpenLayers: BSD (Source)
- GeoExt: BSD (Source)
- Ext JS: GPL v3 (Source) or Sencha commercial license.
With all of this in mind, it is possible to create closed-source applications that depend on the OpenGeo Suite without having to distribute the code. However, if you are making code-level changes to the OpenGeo Suite or its components, you are obligated to redistribute those changes if you redistribute the software. So, the obligation to open source applies to modifications of the source code, not to any applications that leverage the software. You are free to provide whatever licensing on your code that you deem is appropriate.
Many people ask about dual-licensing the OpenGeo Suite (much like how Sencha does with Ext JS). However, as we’re a true open source company, we don’t own all of the intellectual property for our source code and are just as obligated by the license to distribute modifications as anyone else is. So, dual-licensing just isn’t an option.
While we promote open source application development (and do so in house), we respect that everyone’s needs are different and strive to be as accommodating as possible to any organization that wishes to use the OpenGeo Suite.
Hopefully this will clear up some confusion surrounding licensing, but as always, if you have questions, please feel free to comment on this post, send us a message on Twitter, or even a private message through our contact form. Happy coding!
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Tags: bsd, commercial, gpl, lgpl, licenses, licensing, opengeo suite, suite
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It would be really nice if you gave an explanation of when you have to pay for GeoExt. Sencha does not make it clear at all. And, the issue of open source Javascript in general seems to be murky.
Hi Sean. We wrote about this a while back:
http://blog.opengeo.org/2010/10/25/ext-js-licensing-qa/
As we understand it, you only need to purchase an Ext JS license from Sencha if your project is both commercial and closed-source. That license would also apply to applications made with GeoExt.
http://www.sencha.com/products/extjs/license/
If you have a specific application that you’re not sure about, it would be great to ask Sencha directly and see what they say. This is definitely a confusing topic, so I’m sure many people reading here would like to know what you find out as well.