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I was just reading the Magento Commerce Software License Agreement v1 today. (https://magento.com/sites/default/files/magento-commerce-software-license-agreement.pdf)

Under the section 2B, it says

Customers shall not (g) use any Copyleft Software in connection with the Software

Does this mean I cannot use any open-source modules or extensions on Magento Commerce? As far as I know, all popular open-source licenses like OSL are copyleft.

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4 Answers 4

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Asked internally, official response is to consult a lawyer in this area regarding what you would like to do.

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  • Thanks Ben. Actually, it's our client 's lawyer who pointed this out and asked for clarification. I believe Magento should explain this clause in detail to remove confusion. I have been asking around, nothing concrete so far.
    – Hashid
    Sep 25, 2019 at 3:34
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As I understand it says "You should not use Magento with some copyleft software and not the other way" as copyleft software can be redistributed by the users. But, I would suggest you to send an email to the Magento sales team and they will get back to you with a proper response.

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  • I'm assuming the same. But the phrase is ambiguous and risky. I've emailed Magento already. I'll update here when I get a reply.
    – Hashid
    Sep 17, 2019 at 15:08
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As magento have used that terminology it's created a grey area

copyleft: an arrangement whereby software or artistic work may be used, modified, and distributed freely on condition that anything derived from it is bound by the same conditions

So it's not so much that you are using open source free extensions; it's that the result is meant to be bound by the same conditions - so I understand your concern

But if the software is more specifically listed as GPLv3 - commercial use is acceptable. I've seen OSL get compared to LGPL. In my opinion software that merely links to OSL software is not subject to the OSL license.

So in a summary; check each extension but generally you should be fine.

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  • I am afraid this answer is not helpful. My concern is that, Magento Commerce license restricts its customers from using copyleft licensed modules. There are plenty of Magento connectors / extensions / modules out there which have copyleft license (OSL, GPL etc). Does it make sense to restrict anyone from using these?
    – Hashid
    Sep 16, 2019 at 19:52
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    @Hashid you should wait to get some official response.
    – Mukesh
    Sep 17, 2019 at 8:49
  • @mukesh It's a shocker that nobody had an issue with it (unless I have misunderstood the clause)
    – Hashid
    Sep 17, 2019 at 12:23
  • As I say their terminology has created this grey area. If you were to install and adapt a copy left extension you could then not distribute the modified extension as your own work. So technically it's the extension and not the framework that are bound by these conditions. I still stand by my answer that you will have to check each extension. The point I'm making is that the term copyleft is far too generic. And on that basis this term would be too difficult to enforce.
    – Dominic Pixie
    Sep 17, 2019 at 12:58
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    I'm not disputing that the term exists I'm disputing that they would be able to able to legally prevent you from using open source extensions on that basis because the term copyleft is too generic. But if in doubt in commerce customers have access to additional support where you can get an answer. There are laws in the UK (and other countries) which void terms and conditions if they are not clear.
    – Dominic Pixie
    Sep 17, 2019 at 16:16
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You can use any open source or free extension but if that extension makes any issues like XSS attacks, data leak etc Magento as a Company won’t be responsible. Hope you understood what it means.

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  • Thanks for the answer. Sorry but you don't seem to have understood the question. The question is about copyleft restriction mentioned in Magento Commerce license document, not about Magento's warranty for open source modules.
    – Hashid
    Sep 17, 2019 at 12:21

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