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I am writing an application for my organization which needs to be shipped to customer. It has a part of database migration for which I am using flyway library.

However I am confused with licensing. Flyway is licensed as Apache 2.0 but still it has Pro and Enterprise editions which are paid. I have following specific queries but would welcome any additional information.

  • What is meant by Apache 2.0 here when it is being priced?
  • Can I use community edition for proprietary software which will be given to customers?
  • Is the pricing not for software but for support i.e. I can use it freely if not availing support?
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  • What is “here”? (“What is meant by Apache 2.0 here when it is being priced?” This sentence makes no sense.
    – ctrl-alt-delor
    Feb 7, 2019 at 12:35

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According to their webpage, only the community edition is Apache-licensed; Pro and Enterprise versions have a commercial licence.

The Apache-licensed version can be used for any purpose. If you redistribute it the Apache licence places some small obligations on you; read the licence for more information.

They indicate that support for the community edition is "community", which often means "try to find someone else who's already had your problem". Commercial support is only available with the proprietary, paid versions, which you cannot use for free (or freely) even if you don't use the support.

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You are mixing up ideas: Free, commercial etc.

The Apache 2 licence is a Free Software licence. Free as in freedom, not as in price. One of the freedoms is to sell copies. Another is to allow commercial use.

What is not allowed in most Free Software licences is to make it become proprietary.

Therefore:

  • What is meant by Apache 2.0 here when it is being priced?

    You can charge a fee (any amount). I don't see anything “here”.

  • Can I use community edition for proprietary software which will be given to customers?

    You can use the community (Apache 2 licenced version), and give copies to your customers. However You must give them the same licence that you have ( unless the licence gives you freedom to do otherwise ). You must not make it proprietary. You must give access to source code for any modifications.

  • Is the pricing not for software but for support i.e. I can use it freely if not availing support?

    The price is not limited. You have the freedom to charge any price (only limited by what your customers will pay). Yes you can use it freely. You may become liable as the distributor of the software, especially if you sell copies (see local laws). You are free to provide support.

An extract from the licence. Ensure you read the whole licence, get you lawyer to read it, and give you advice.

  1. Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of the Work or Derivative Works thereof in any medium, with or without modifications, and in Source or Object form, provided that You meet the following conditions:

You must give any other recipients of the Work or Derivative Works a copy of this License; and You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices stating that You changed the files; and You must retain, in the Source form of any Derivative Works that You distribute, all copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices from the Source form of the Work, excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of the Derivative Works; and If the Work includes a "NOTICE" text file as part of its distribution, then any Derivative Works that You distribute must include a readable copy of the attribution notices contained within such NOTICE file, excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of the Derivative Works, in at least one of the following places: within a NOTICE text file distributed as part of the Derivative Works; within the Source form or documentation, if provided along with the Derivative Works; or, within a display generated by the Derivative Works, if and wherever such third-party notices normally appear. The contents of the NOTICE file are for informational purposes only and do not modify the License. You may add Your own attribution notices within Derivative Works that You distribute, alongside or as an addendum to the NOTICE text from the Work, provided that such additional attribution notices cannot be construed as modifying the License.

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  • If I am using library(jar) of software and not the source code, and including acknowledgement, then still can't I use that in my proprietary code?
    – Shashwat Kumar
    Feb 11, 2019 at 10:39
  • You are now mixing up plagiarism and copyright infringement. Plagiarism is about not lying about your homework assignments, and is between your, the examiner, and the exam board (if someone else does your work, then stating where it is from will avoid plagiarism, but you still need to make a contribution to get a good grade). Copyright infringement is about copying someone else's work with out there permission. It is between you and the copyright holder.
    – ctrl-alt-delor
    Feb 11, 2019 at 11:31
  • So in the end, if I were to use the Flyway Community in place of the current project migration tool there won't be repercussions? Basically just like any other library dependency used by Maven for example...
    – lapots
    Feb 16, 2020 at 20:31

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