Re:Supabase OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Pos...
by nightpool on Wednesday September 10, 2025 @01:32PM
(#45201023)
Cypher in a sibling comment makes a good argument that this was the same logic (patent termination for legitimate, non-licensed patent claims) that got Facebook in trouble: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45199687
Re:Supabase OrioleDB Patent: now freely available to the Pos...
by cyphar on Wednesday September 10, 2025 @08:03PM
(#45205891)
I re-read the text again and it's even worse than the Facebook one -- the entire license terminates in reaction to any litigation, not just patent litigation. Hypothetically, a former employee suing Supabase for violation of workers' rights would not be allowed to use the software anymore.
But they have switched to Apache 2.0 now, so crisis averted.
But I am not sure if the first exemption is necessarily a good thing. The Apache License, Version 2.0 is broader in what may be grounds for patent licence termination. So it is a better deterrent against patent trolls (even if that means some legitimate patent claims are also discouraged).