Inquiry About License Policy Change

[fer5242]

Thank you for developing an excellent program. I have questions regarding the license policy change.
1) Is the Business version priced at 20 euros per device a perpetual license that supports updates for one year?
2) Is using the Standard version prohibited in a commercial environment for version 13 below?

[Zenju]

1) Is the Business version priced at 20 euros per device a perpetual license that supports updates for one year?

That's what it says in the FAQ, doesn't it? https://freefilesync.org/faq.php#business

2) Is using the Standard version prohibited in a commercial environment for version 13 below?

Not sure if retroactively changing terms would be even possible, legally. Anyway the license changes apply to version 13 and later.

[Larcc1]

Hello,
I have been using FreeFileSync Standard version for many years and I am very grateful for that.

2) Is using the Standard version prohibited in a commercial environment for version 13 below?

Not sure if retroactively changing terms would be even possible, legally. Anyway the license changes apply to version 13 and later.

Does the above answer mean that FreeFileSync Standard version before the License Policy Change (before version 13 - Please correct me if wrong) is still free for commercial use? when the old policy stated:-

Is FreeFileSync free for commercial use?
Yes, FreeFileSync may be used in business, commercial, and government environments without cost. This however does not apply to the "FreeFileSync Donation Edition" which is intended for private use only.

Thank you.

[Plerry]

@Larcc1
Obviously, as Zenju writes

Anyway the license changes apply to version 13 and later.

[Larcc1]

Thank you Plerry for the confirmation.

[Larcc1]

I would respectfully like to ask on what basis the older versions (below 13) are free for commercial use.

Firstly, I have gone through the license agreements of FreeFileSync 11.27 (which is below 13) and FreeFileSync 13.2 (which is 13 or above) shown at the time of installing.

FreeFileSync 11.27 has the licenses:-
A. GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
B. OpenSSL License
C. curl License
D. libssh2 License

While, FreeFileSync 13.2 has the licenses:-
A. GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
B. OpenSSL License
C. curl License
D. libssh2 License
E. PuTTY License

Now, the first three licenses: GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE, OpenSSL License and curl license allow commercial use when searched on https://www.tldrlegal.com/ . The other two licenses libssh2 and PuTTY are not available when searched on https://www.tldrlegal.com/ . So I have read the details of libssh2 and PuTTY licenses but there is no mention of whether commercial use is allowed or not in those details. (Please correct me if wrong)

Hence, this rules out the license agreements to be the basis on which one can get an answer whether commercial use is allowed or not in this case.

As posted earlier, the answer to the question "Is FreeFileSync free for commercial use?" on the FAQ webpage has changed. Is the answer to the above question the basis for getting an answer whether commercial use is allowed or not? If yes then according to you any claims made on the main website, FAQ webpage or other webpages at one point in time apply to the version of FreeFileSync available at that time?

OR

The older versions (below 13) are free for commercial use ONLY because Zenju has written "Anyway the license changes apply to version 13 and later."

Thank you.

[xCSxXenon]

IANAL, but while the source code is FOSS/GNU and must be freely accessible and shareable, any additions, such as self-extracting installers, can be outside of that agreement/terms.
https://www.reddit.com/r/opensource/comments/ac5mcs/is_it_legal_to_extend_an_opensource_project_and/

Again, very much IANAL, and Reddit should also be taken with a grain of salt, but it's all just info to consider.

[Larcc1]

@xCSxXenon Thank you for your reply. I am trying to understand what you meant in the above post.

1. FreeFileSync is Open Source software as stated on the main website. But whether it is "Free and Open Source Software - FOSS" (partly or completely) that I don't know (maybe someone can answer this). FOSS is freely licensed to anyone to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way as written on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software and hence free for commercial use.

2. By mentioning "self-extracting installers" I think you are referring to "setup files" of different versions of FreeFileSync which one can download and install. Self-extracting installers can be additions to source code which is FOSS and hence self-extracting installers may not be free for commercial use.

3. From an end-user point of view, I don't know (or can't find a way to know) which versions of FreeFileSync are additions to source code which is FOSS and whether the additions to a specific version are free for commercial use. (Again, if someone knows about this he/she can post over here)

I would be glad if other people can also provide their opinions on what basis/logic the older versions (below 13) are free for commercial use.

Thank you.

[flash608]

@xCSxXenon Thank you for your reply. I am trying to understand what you meant in the above post.

1. FreeFileSync is Open Source software as stated on the main website. But whether it is "Free and Open Source Software - FOSS" (partly or completely) that I don't know (maybe someone can answer this). FOSS is freely licensed to anyone to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way as written on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software and hence free for commercial use.

2. By mentioning "self-extracting installers" I think you are referring to "setup files" of different versions of FreeFileSync which one can download and install. Self-extracting installers can be additions to source code which is FOSS and hence self-extracting installers may not be free for commercial use.

3. From an end-user point of view, I don't know (or can't find a way to know) which versions of FreeFileSync are additions to source code which is FOSS and whether the additions to a specific version are free for commercial use. (Again, if someone knows about this he/she can post over here)

I would be glad if other people can also provide their opinions on what basis/logic the older versions (below 13) are free for commercial use.

Thank you.

Hello Larcc1
As in viewtopic.php?t=9757 topic before v13 it was written in the FAQ and I think that in the licence as well that it was free for private and commercial use. I've seen this myself since I used FFS before on my personal computer, later on with donation as well, and next on my company computer. I remember that because I've had to be 100% sure that I could use it commercialy that time.

Now I've read that since v13 it has changed, which is great BTW because for such a great app there should be some "benefits" especially in commercial environment. I just have to convince my company for some "shopping" ;)

p.s. sorry for my english :)