VirtualBox

Changes between Version 6 and Version 7 of Licensing_FAQ


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Timestamp:
May 19, 2010 8:51:56 AM (14 years ago)
Author:
umoeller
Comment:

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  • Licensing_FAQ

    v6 v7  
    1313 If you are an individual end user, there is generally no need to purchase a commercial license, provided that you respect, in the case of !VirtualBox OSE, the terms and conditions of the [wiki:"GPL"], or, in the case of the full !VirtualBox package, those of the [wiki:"VirtualBox_PUEL" Personal Use and Evaluation License].
    1414
    15  As an enterprise customer, we encourage you to purchase commercial licenses from Sun and receive benefits such as access to enterprise features and support for mission-critical use of !VirtualBox. We also encourage ISVs and IHVs to incorporate !VirtualBox into their offerings, preferably through a custom license deal with Sun. Please [http://www.sun.com/virtualbox/ contact Sun] for additional information.
     15 As an enterprise customer, we encourage you to purchase commercial licenses from Oracle and receive benefits such as access to enterprise features and support for mission-critical use of !VirtualBox. We also encourage ISVs and IHVs to incorporate !VirtualBox into their offerings, preferably through a custom license deal with Oracle. Please contact Oracle for additional information.
    1616
    1717 3. '''How can !VirtualBox be both open source and commercially licensed?'''
    1818
    19  This is called "dual licensing". Since Sun holds all the copyrights to the !VirtualBox code, or is at least permitted to relicense code that is owned by external contributors or other parties, we are free to choose the terms under which we license the code to our customers, or the open-source community.
     19 This is called "dual licensing". Since Oracle holds all the copyrights to the !VirtualBox code, or is at least permitted to relicense code that is owned by external contributors or other parties, we are free to choose the terms under which we license the code to our customers, or the open-source community.
    2020
    2121 4. '''Why dual licensing?'''
     
    2525 5. '''Will the licensing terms of !VirtualBox OSE be changed in the future?'''
    2626
    27  We are not currently planning to do so, but it doesn't really matter. Any code that was once released under the GPL cannot be "closed" again. The license that Sun has granted you with the GPL is perpetual and cannot be taken back. Even if Sun were to change the license again, this could only affect future versions, and anybody would still be permitted to redistribute the existing !VirtualBox code under the terms of the GPL.
     27 We are not currently planning to do so, but it doesn't really matter. Any code that was once released under the GPL cannot be "closed" again. The license that Oracle has granted you with the GPL is perpetual and cannot be taken back. Even if Oracle were to change the license again, this could only affect future versions, and anybody would still be permitted to redistribute the existing !VirtualBox code under the terms of the GPL.
    2828
    2929 6. '''What exactly do you mean by ''personal use'' and ''academic use'' in the [wiki:"VirtualBox_PUEL" Personal Use and Evaluation License]?'''
     
    4141 8. '''Which guidelines apply to the use of the name ''!VirtualBox''?'''
    4242
    43  The term ''!VirtualBox'' has been registered by Sun as a trademark in various countries. It may be freely used together with the products available from this web site. However, if you choose to ship custom binaries and/or source code revisions of the product, Sun reserves the right to deny use of the trademark ''!VirtualBox''. This might seem rather strict but we believe that it is important to avoid any kind of confusion arising from multiple versions of the same product coming from different sources.
     43 The term ''!VirtualBox'' has been registered by Oracle as a trademark in various countries. It may be freely used together with the products available from this web site. However, if you choose to ship custom binaries and/or source code revisions of the product, Sun reserves the right to deny use of the trademark ''!VirtualBox''. This might seem rather strict but we believe that it is important to avoid any kind of confusion arising from multiple versions of the same product coming from different sources.

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