
Ask HN: Commercial licensing of code that runs on R - arvindkumarc
We are trying to bootstrap our startup with R analytics, the only thing that is restricting us from going ahead with R is the licensing (GNU GPLv3).<p>1. We would love to know whether we can build the analytics logic in R and sell it but also restrict them from accessing the code?<p>2. Can we release our algorithm alone as a separate bundle and let the users install R and other runtime libraries; we at runtime run our scripts on top of the R installation? (The libraries which would be installed might be GPLv3.)<p>3. We also find enterprise versions of R (Oracle&#x2F;Microsoft&#x2F;Alteryx etc.,). How are they able to price it? We are not sure if they are releasing the source as and when required. If they aren&#x27;t releasing the source, how is that possible?
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smt88
Any answer you get here won't substitute for the opinion of a lawyer. Never
build a company on shaky or non-existent legal advice.

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arvindkumarc
Agreed. Im just trying to make myself clear that there is problem, not taking
it as a legal advice. Mostly looking out for other options or better be aware
etc.,

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smt88
That's exactly my point. You need a lawyer to tell you if there's no problem,
a small problem, or a large problem. The armchair lawyers on HN may give you
confident-sounding answers, but the advice won't be sound enough to build a
business on.

Consulting a lawyer about this should cost you less than $500. You can usually
find startup lawyers who will work for equity (or just the promise of future
business) if cash is that tight.

