Licensing disputes have been a central challenge in the commercial open-source space. Many companies, including Grafana and Element, have adopted more restrictive "copyleft" licenses, while others like HashiCorp have gone fully proprietary. However, Elastic, an $8 billion company, has taken a different route by returning to open source.
Elastic, known for its enterprise search engine Elasticsearch and Kibana visualization dashboard, surprised the industry last month by announcing a shift back to open source after nearly four years of operating under proprietary "source available" licenses. This decision comes at a time when many companies are moving away from open-source models, with some developing entirely new licensing structures like "fair source."
Elastic’s Transition to Closed Source and the AWS Conflict
Elastic initially switched to closed-source licenses in 2021 following a prolonged conflict with Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS offered its own managed version of Elasticsearch under the Apache 2.0 license, which was permitted, but Elastic believed that AWS's use of the "Amazon Elasticsearch" brand caused confusion among customers. This led Elastic to pursue legal action against AWS for trademark infringement.
While Elastic eventually reached a legal settlement with AWS, the ongoing legal battles consumed valuable resources, which detracted from the company’s core mission. Elastic co-founder and CTO Shay Banon noted, “It was just taking too long — you can spend years winning a legal case, and by then, you’ve lost the market due to confusion.”
As a result of the conflict, AWS forked Elasticsearch and launched OpenSearch, which is now under the stewardship of the Linux Foundation. With OpenSearch well-established, Elastic decided to return to an open-source model.
A Return to Open Source with AGPL
Elastic’s return to open source isn't a full-circle move back to its original Apache 2.0 license. Instead, the company has adopted the AGPL (Affero General Public License), a more restrictive license that requires any derivative software to be released under the same AGPL terms. This contrasts with Elastic's previous proprietary licenses, which allowed more flexibility but lacked the "open source" stamp recognized by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
Elastic’s transition back to AGPL was driven by the desire to reconnect with the open-source community. Banon stated, “I love open source. It encapsulates a set of freedoms that we developers love having.”
Looking Forward: New Licensing Possibilities
Elastic aims to collaborate with the OSI to create a new type of license that strikes a balance between AGPL and SSPL (Server Side Public License), the latter being a license pioneered by MongoDB. The company hopes this potential new license could offer the benefits of open-source licensing while addressing the challenges that led to its previous conflicts.
For now, Elastic is content with being able to label itself "open source" once again, a designation Banon believes is critical in attracting developers and businesses that prioritize open-source solutions.
Conclusion
Elastic’s move back to open source is a significant development in the tech industry, especially as many companies shift toward proprietary models. By adopting the AGPL license, Elastic is positioning itself as a leader in the open-source community while addressing the licensing challenges that have plagued the commercial open-source sector.
SEO Keywords:
- Elastic open source
- Elasticsearch AGPL license
- Open source licensing trends
- Elastic AWS trademark dispute
- Elasticsearch vs OpenSearch
- Commercial open source solutions
- Elastic Kibana open source transition
No comments:
Post a Comment