the Zealous

MongoDB is a popular documents-oriented database, the source code of which is licensed under an open source license, the Server Side Public License (SSPL).¹

The SSPL is based on the Affero General Public License v3 (AGPL). Until 2018, the AGPL applied to MongoDB source code. AGPL was replaced with the SSPL in response to cloud hosting providers like Amazon making use of a MongoDB clone as a service. The only meaningful difference between the AGPL and the SSPL is the copyleft provision.

AGPL has a copyleft provision that requires the source code of modified versions of the licensed program be made available to all users who interact with the software over a network. That is, if you modify the program and use it in your cloud-bases application or service, you must make those modifications and the program itself available in source code form.

Mongo replaced this copyleft provision with a new version—copyleft on steroids.

Errors and Omissions, est. 2017, is a query dedicated to anonymous descriptions of fuck-ups or near fuck-ups, as well as valuable advice.

Some excerpts:

In high stakes transactions in which vast sums of wealth are exchanged in return for ownership in ongoing complex businesses, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) contracts are an oft-overlooked source of clever legal craftsmanship. With so much value and risk embodied in these transactions, much compelling contract language that's produced in these deals is readily amenable for use in non-M&A contexts.

Glenn D. West, a prominent M&A lawyer and commentator whose insights reach well beyond the M&A context, has written extensively about the appropriate contract language to use in order to effectively disclaim the threat of fraud claims and avoid liability for extra-contractual statements. In two highly regarded pieces for the ABA Business Lawyer (regarding measures to avoid extra-contractual liability and fraud liability carveouts), Mr. West has proven an effective advocate for, inter alia, the following propositions: