[omniORB] licensing

[jnye@nbnet.nb.ca]

Hello all,

I know there have been many discussions about this, but please bear with me.
I would like to know if it is possible to obtain a commercial license for
OmniORB that satifies the requirements of the developers. From previous
license discussions on this mailing list, I understand that the developer's
requirements are basically:

If I am going to compile and link (dynamically) a proprietary software
package with OmniORB and distribute it, I must:
- Tell my customers that I am using OmniORB (no problem!)
- Distribute the source code for OmniORB along with the application or tell
the customer where they can obtain it (no problem!).
- Allow the customer to modify the OmniORB libraries and run my application
with them. (no problem! At their own risk, of course!).
- Not claim that OmniORB is my work (no problem!).
- If I display a copyright notice onscreen, I must show that the software is
using OmniORB (no problem!).

I would like to use OmniORB as a shared library, but the LGPL is very
restrictive when it comes to headers (see section five of the LGPL for
reference), even when dynamically linking. Since a lot of OmniORB headers
have templates and extensive inline code, according to the LGPL, if my
software includes the OmniORB headers, the files including that code
automatically become a work based on the library and as such I must provide
the source code for those files. Based on earlier postings, it is my
understanding that the authors of OmniORB do not want to impose these
restrictions on users of the OmniORB libraries, but still, the default
license that we are required to distribute with the package imposes these
requirements. It is not written anywhere in any documentation in the OmniORB
package that the intentions are anything different, so while the authors of
OmniORB may not go after anyone for letting section 5 of the LGPL 'slip
through the cracks', a customer may go after someone as the license clearly
states they have the right to do so.

Has anyone else had this concern, if so, how did you resolve it?

Anyway, who should I get in contact with to find out how to obtain a
commercial license that guarantees the developers demands and will allow me
to use compile and link with OmniORB without losing any sleep? I've heard
some mentioning of obtaining a commercial license for the statically linked
version of OmniORB, that is why I brought it up for the dynamically linked
version.

Thanks a bunch,
Jason.