Clarify license limitations regarding customization

Baserow Help
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1

Hi,
I recently discoverd Baserow and I love the concept.
I plan to build a Saas for a special niche. I think baserow would be a great toolbase to start. My goal is not compete with Baserow because the value of my product will be on the functional/business concepts not the tool.

However there is some points which are not so clear to me on the licences (I already read through many similar topics here but no really clear answer). If I use self hosted Baserow to build my Saas product, can I (legally & by your licence), maybe by modifying the code or in another way that doesn’t modify the code:

  • Can I hide the Baserow logo, on any pages? Because, on the source code, I think it’s not on the [premium, enterprise, docs] folders. It should be MIT, right? MIT license is one of the most permissive Licence out there. I know if I publish a copy or fork of the code, I must bring the licence and credit the source, but if it’s a Saas is it an obligation to do this? I’m confused on what can really be done on it ?
    • Otherwise can I replace it by just a simple link Powered by Baserow ? (either on premium or free plan ?)
  • Can I hide all the marketing/branding links here and there (github,facebook links … and so on)?
  • If I use the free self hosted plan, do I have the right (not technically but legally) to create a custom plugin (or something else) to manage my users, workspaces & permissions ? (because those features are disabled for free self hosted plan).
    • Otherwise, does any paid self hosted plans allows to have a brand free version (no logo, no links and so on) of the tool?

I understand you wanna have visibility. But I mostly would use it as a tool for my product. It would weird, as example, if you command dishes on restaurant and see: Powered by Frigidaire or SEB ^^
I would be grateful if you could answer in an unambiguous way.

Regards;

2

Hi @ragizo, thank you for your kind words. Around 85% of the Baserow codebase is indeed MIT licensed. This is the most permissive license, and you’re free to do with it as you please.

TLDR: feel free to do what you want, as long as you don’t use the premium and enterprise code without paying.

  • You can fork the repository and replace and/or hide the logos and mentions of Baserow. A mention somewhere thanking us or making it clear that you’re using Baserow would be appreciated.
  • You can fork the repository, introduce changes to it and keep everything private.
  • If you’re going to use the code in the premium and enterprise directories, you need to get a subscription with us. If you want to be on the safe side and not use it, you can delete the premium and enterprise directories, and remove the imports from backend/src/baserow/config/settings/base.py and web-frontend/config/nuxt.config.base.js to completely remove and disable those features.
  • Baserow is very modular, and everyone has the technical and legal right to create a plugin for whatever functionality they want.
  • We currently don’t have a paid white-labeling offering. This might be something we could introduce in the future

I hope that answers your questions. :slight_smile:

3

Thank you for your clear answer

By the way if I choose to fork the code, should I create a public repository for this fork?

Regards

4

It’s entirely up to you whether you want to make a public or private fork. There is no obligation for making it public.