Category: 1.5 Commercial Open Source
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![Single-vendor open source: It’s not a project, it is a feature! [Computer Magazine]](https://dirkriehle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10683-mauritius-port-louis-mural-1-300x150.jpg)
Single-vendor open source: It’s not a project, it is a feature! [Computer Magazine]
I’m happy to report that the 44th article in the open source column of IEEE Computer has been published. As always, please consider writing an article proposal! Abstract This article examines the outcry over open source relicensing (the so-called “rug pull”) by vendors and argues that it is a counterproductive reaction. The relicensing of single-vendor…
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I’m amused, legally amused
tl;dr How to make a mess of your business model by fudging your licenses You may have followed the ONLYOFFICE vs. Euro-Office kerfuffle about commercial open source licensing. Ascensio Systems SIA, the company behind ONLYOFFICE, a Microsoft Office like office suite, makes its money by selling commercial licenses to ONLYOFFICE. Like many so-called commercial open…
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The new closed complement to commercial open-source software
Commercial open source firms make money by selling something that they don’t give away for free. If you’ve been following my writing or even attended my open source business workshop you know that I’ve been calling what companies sell the closed complement. Closed, because customers don’t get it for free, and complement, because it somehow…
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The new coming relicensing scare?
What if commercial source-available vendors stopped licensing their product under their source-available license and only offered a traditional commercial license? In my current research interviews on commercial open source, two alternative intellectual property (IP) strategies are becoming visible: (1) Stay with open source and rely on trademarks, quality, and speed and (2) forego open source…
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Re-relicensing to open source explained
In March 2024, Redis removed the open source license of its popular in-memory database and added the SSPL-1.0 license, a non-open source license according to the Open Source Initiative, the steward of the open source definition. In April 2025, Redis reversed course and re-relicensed back to open source by adding the AGPL-3.0 license to its…
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What is “openwashing” (in software)?
“Openwashing” is a term used by proponents of community open-source software against commercial open source companies. The goal is to shame the companies into changing their business model as well as to prevent the business model in the first place. The claim is that commercial open source companies may be providing open-source software, but are…