help-octave
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Re2: free Matlab access?


From: Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso
Subject: Re: Re2: free Matlab access?
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:47:38 -0600

I knew that those hours spent trolling the debian-legal mailing list
would one day pay off... ;-)

2009/1/22 Jaroslav Fojtik <address@hidden>:
> Here is a full licence agreement.

Gah, what a mess. Restricting freedoms is hard work!

> The MathWorks, Inc. Software License Agreement
[snip]
> 4. LICENSE RESTRICTIONS.  The License is subject to the express
>   restrictions set forth below. Licensee shall not, and shall not
>   permit any Third Party to:
>
[snip]
>   4.8. provide access (directly or indirectly) to the Programs via a web
>        or network Application, except as permitted in Article 8 of the
>        Deployment Addendum;

Alright, so no network use here, except that we have to check what
that Addendum says...

But we do have one other addendum that says...

[snip]
> The MathWorks, Inc. Software License Agreement - Installation and Use
> Addendum
[snip]
> This is an Addendum to The MathWorks, Inc. Software License Agreement
> (the "Agreement"), and the terms and conditions of this Addendum are
> incorporated therein.  Each capitalized term used herein and not defined
> herein shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the Agreement.
> 4. LICENSE OPTIONS AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING.
[snip]
>   4.3. Concurrent.  Except as specifically set forth in Section 4.4
>        hereof, the Concurrent License Option permits only the Network
>        Concurrent User Installation Type.
[snip]
> 5. INSTALLATION TYPES.
[snip]
>   5.3. Network Concurrent User.  The Programs may only be installed in
>        a central location on a single designated network server.
>        Licensee may have only as many Licensed Users simultaneously
>        operating a Program at any given time as the number of
>        Concurrent keys acquired for that Program, except in the case of
>        the Engine in which case the number of Program sessions running
>        at any one time is limited to the number of Engine workers
>        acquired.  Portions of the Programs may be installed on
>        individual computers to accelerate startup times, as long as the
>        installations on the individual computers are controlled by the
>        license manager on the network server.  Subject to the
>        foregoing, a Licensed User of the Concurrent License Option may
>        utilize any number of computers served by a single license
>        manager server provided that, before starting a Program session
>        on any computer, the Licensed User checks out a Concurrent key
>        from the license manager server for that computer, and that any
>        Concurrent Program sessions on each computer are not run on more
>        than two (2) separate processors on each computer.   Licensees
>        of the Concurrent License Option are prohibited from providing
>        Program access to users located outside the country in which the
>        license manager server is installed unless Licensee has
>        contracted for global use.  For the purposes of the Concurrent
>        License Option, all servers located in a member country of the
>        North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") shall be
>        considered located in the same country as those of the other
>        NAFTA members, and all servers located in Iceland, Norway,
>        Switzerland, or any member country of the European Union ("EU")
>        shall be considered located in the same country.

So maybe something like this could work for Hájek. However,

> THE MATHWORKS, INC. SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT - Deployment > Addendum
[snip]
> 3. NONCOMPETITION.  Licensee agrees not to use the Programs, Derivative
>   Forms, Generated Forms, or Program Components to make or distribute
>   its own or a Third Party's Application, a principal purpose of which,
>   as reasonably determined by MathWorks, is to perform the same or
>   similar functions as Programs licensed by MathWorks or which replaces
>   any component of the Programs.  Licensee shall not otherwise use the
>   Programs to compete with the products or businesses of MathWorks,
>   including by distributing Libraries, or any form of an entire Program
>   or a substantial portion of a Program.

Gah, this one looks really nasty. They're trying to make it illegal to
create Octave if you use Matlab!

I think our only hope is clean-room reverse engineering[1]... I
wouldn't put it past the Mathworks to try to sue Octave out of
existence if they discover that its lead developers are using Matlab
in order to develop Octave.

- Jordi G. H.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design



reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]