HashiCorp adopts the Business Source License for future releases of its products

Rhea-AI Summary

HashiCorp changes its source code license from Mozilla Public License v2.0 to Business Source License v1.1, allowing permissive use of its products while having more control over commercialization.

Positive

• HashiCorp's new license enables them to continue building open, freely available products while having more control over commercialization.
• HashiCorp will still publish all source code and updates to its GitHub repository, allowing users to copy, modify, and redistribute the code for non-commercial and commercial use without a competitive offering.

Negative

• Vendors who provide competitive products and services built on HashiCorp open source products will no longer be able to incorporate future releases, bug fixes, or security patches contributed to HashiCorp products.

Updated license ensures the continued availability of source code for the HashiCorp community while providing more control over commercialization of HashiCorp products

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HashiCorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCP), a leader in multi-cloud infrastructure automation software, today announced it has changed its source code license from Mozilla Public License v2.0 (MPL 2.0) to the Business Source License v1.1 (BSL or BUSL), effective in all future releases of HashiCorp products, including HashiCorp Terraform, Vault, Consul, Boundary, Nomad, Waypoint, Packer, and Vagrant.

This change will enable HashiCorp to continue allowing permissive use of the HashiCorp products for the HashiCorp community and partner ecosystems while having more control around how its intellectual property is commercialized.

“The BSL allows HashiCorp to continue building open, freely available products while providing more control over how our products are commercialized,” said Armon Dadgar, co-founder and chief technology officer, HashiCorp. “We provide feature-rich products to the community for free, and that is made possible by our commercial customers who partner with us. We have a thriving community of users, partners, and customers, many of whom are contributors, and our first goal was to minimize impact to them.”

This new license allows for all forms of use except for providing a competitive offering to HashiCorp products and services. The new license does not change how customers, users, and partners will interact with HashiCorp code. Specifically:

• HashiCorp will continue to publish all source code and all updates to HashiCorp products to its GitHub repository.
• This source code will be available for free, and users will be allowed to copy, modify, and redistribute the code for all non-commercial use and commercial use without a competitive offering.
• Partners who have built non-competitive integrations or custom tools will still be able to use and maintain these tools.
  

Vendors who provide competitive products and services built on HashiCorp open source products will no longer be able to incorporate future releases, bug fixes, or security patches contributed to HashiCorp products.

HashiCorp works closely with the major cloud service providers, and hundreds of technology partners and system integrators to support joint integrations for mutual users and customers. The updated HashiCorp license will continue to support this strong partner network, and does not change the ability for partners to build joint integrations for mutual customers. HashiCorp APIs, SDKs, and almost all other libraries will remain MPL 2.0.

Supporting materials
Blog: https://hashi.co/bsl-blog
Frequently Asked Questions: https://hashi.co/license-faq
Video: https://hashi.co/bsl-video

About HashiCorp
HashiCorp is a leader in multi-cloud infrastructure automation software. The HashiCorp software suite enables organizations to adopt consistent workflows and create a system of record for automating the cloud: infrastructure provisioning, security, networking, and application deployment. HashiCorp’s portfolio of products includes Vagrant™, Packer™, Terraform®, Vault™, Consul®, Nomad™, Boundary™, and Waypoint™. HashiCorp offers free community source-available products, enterprise products, and managed cloud services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, though most HashiCorp employees work remotely, strategically distributed around the globe. For more information visit hashicorp.com.

All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Investor contact
Alex Kurtz
Vice President, Investor Relations
ir@hashicorp.com

Media & analyst contact
Kate Lehman
Director, Corporate Communications
media@hashicorp.com

A video accompanying this announcement is available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/281491c8-8d36-4b38-8350-a1e8b6822ae7

FAQ

What is the new license that HashiCorp has changed to?

HashiCorp has changed its source code license from Mozilla Public License v2.0 to Business Source License v1.1.

What does the new license allow?

The new license allows for all forms of use except for providing a competitive offering to HashiCorp products and services.

Will HashiCorp still publish its source code and updates?

Yes, HashiCorp will continue to publish all source code and updates to its GitHub repository.

What can users do with the HashiCorp code under the new license?

Users are allowed to copy, modify, and redistribute the code for non-commercial use and commercial use without a competitive offering.

What will happen to vendors who provide competitive products and services built on HashiCorp open source products?

Vendors will no longer be able to incorporate future releases, bug fixes, or security patches contributed to HashiCorp products.