
Facebook Isn’t Budging on React’s BSD and Patents License - artur_makly
https://wptavern.com/facebook-isnt-budging-on-reacts-bsd-patents-license
======
whipoodle
I'm still very dubious of the _actual_ issue, though. Like what is supposedly
going to happen to people who use react.

And from what I understand the license hasn't changed so why has it become an
issue _now_? Like the guy in the article who says his teams have to pull it
out... hasn't whatever legal danger is being alleged here existed this whole
time? But right now it's become an issue? I dunno, it just smells fishy to me.

------
rpeden
Facebook has decided that keeping the React patent grant as-is is in their
best interest. I respect their right to do so.

At this point, there are two reasons for companies and individuals to avoid
React: legal reasons, and philosophical ones.

Legally speaking, it's probably true that the patent grant and possible
revocation of it is unlikely to impact the majority of companies who might
want to use React. But even the potential uncertainty that the patents file
introduces could be a decent reason to avoid React, depending on a company's
risk tolerance. I'm not a lawyer, though, so don't count on any of that as
legal advice.

The philosophical objection to using React is a valid one too, I think. I
don't personally find the patent license too objectionable, but I respect the
view of those who feel that it's not in keeping with the spirit of open source
and/or Free Software. This, too, is a perfectly fine reason to choose
something like Vue, or Angular....or Elm, or Ember. Fortunately, there are
plenty of pleasant options to choose from when it comes to front end
development these days.

~~~
whipoodle
I also respect the philosophical objection. My issue is with the practical
one. I already find the supposed risk dubious, but it is especially weird to
me how many people are just now deciding the risk is too great. As far as I
can tell the risk has been unchanged since the introduction of the license.

I suppose teams could have been using it in the hopes that the license would
eventually change, and changing course since it's now clear the license won't
change. But even that doesn't add up, because if your company is really trying
to be careful about such legal risks, you wouldn't have started using it in
the first place.

~~~
rpeden
I agree with you on the practical side of things. I don't think it makes a lot
of sense for companies already using React to drop it in most cases.

I was mainly talking about new companies or new projects deciding to use React
because of the potential risk. Even if the risk is tiny, it might make sense
for risk-averse teams to choose something else, since there are so many good
alternatives available. There are also cases where React is the clear-cut best
choice from a technical perspective, and in these cases I'd say the benefits
almost always outweigh the potential risk.

