Community Stack Licensing Clarification

[sbsprofi]

I want to ensure that my intended use of the Profinet Community Stack is allowed under the Community Stack License. I understand it as allowing my company (a PI member company) to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product. I also understand this to be royalty-free. I am using the example from the community stack's 1.0 release, whose files are licensed under the community stack license, as a base for the adaption for our embedded Linux system.


Our intent is to use the community stack to implement Profinet on our industrial device product, then certify that product through a Profinet Test Center, and then sell that product to our customers. As I understand the license, this entire process should be royalty free with no associated fees for the use of the Profinet Community Stack.


Note that our product is a Profinet Device, not a Profinet Controller.


Is my understanding correct?

[Benjamin.C]

I want to ensure that my intended use of the Profinet Community Stack is allowed under the Community Stack License. I understand it as allowing my company (a PI member company) to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product. I also understand this to be royalty-free. I am using the example from the community stack's 1.0 release, whose files are licensed under the community stack license, as a base for the adaption for our embedded Linux system.


Our intent is to use the community stack to implement Profinet on our industrial device product, then certify that product through a Profinet Test Center, and then sell that product to our customers. As I understand the license, this entire process should be royalty free with no associated fees for the use of the Profinet Community Stack.


Note that our product is a Profinet Device, not a Profinet Controller.


Is my understanding correct?

According to the license-agreement I would answer the questions like the following:

to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product.

PNO grants to LICENSEE with respect to the SOFTWARE and the associated documentation file(s) under its copyrights and intellectual property rights a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to:
2.i: use, have used, copy, have copied, modify, have modified the SOFTWARE in SOURCE CODE form in connection with the development of PRODUCTS or DEVELOPMENT KITS.
2.ii: incorporate and have incorporated the SOFTWARE and/or modified versions thereof in OBJECT CODE form into PRODUCTS and in SOURCE CODE form into DEVELOPMENT KITS,
2.iii: market, have marketed, distribute, have distributed, make available, have made available in any form (e.g. online distribution, subscription and hosting as a service) to third parties for use, have used, copy and have copied in virtual and/or non-virtual environments, the SOFTWARE solely in OBJECT CODE form and as part of PRODUCTS or in SOURCE CODE form as part of DEVELOPMENT KITS


==> Yes, you can use it for your product, and yes it is royalty-free. The intention of the Community-Stack is to strengthen our PROFINET Ecosystem and therefore be free of charge and offer a possibility to integrate PROFINET.

[yongli]

I want to ensure that my intended use of the Profinet Community Stack is allowed under the Community Stack License. I understand it as allowing my company (a PI member company) to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product. I also understand this to be royalty-free. I am using the example from the community stack's 1.0 release, whose files are licensed under the community stack license, as a base for the adaption for our embedded Linux system.


Our intent is to use the community stack to implement Profinet on our industrial device product, then certify that product through a Profinet Test Center, and then sell that product to our customers. As I understand the license, this entire process should be royalty free with no associated fees for the use of the Profinet Community Stack.


Note that our product is a Profinet Device, not a Profinet Controller.


Is my understanding correct?

According to the license-agreement I would answer the questions like the following:

to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product.

PNO grants to LICENSEE with respect to the SOFTWARE and the associated documentation file(s) under its copyrights and intellectual property rights a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to:
2.i: use, have used, copy, have copied, modify, have modified the SOFTWARE in SOURCE CODE form in connection with the development of PRODUCTS or DEVELOPMENT KITS.
2.ii: incorporate and have incorporated the SOFTWARE and/or modified versions thereof in OBJECT CODE form into PRODUCTS and in SOURCE CODE form into DEVELOPMENT KITS,
2.iii: market, have marketed, distribute, have distributed, make available, have made available in any form (e.g. online distribution, subscription and hosting as a service) to third parties for use, have used, copy and have copied in virtual and/or non-virtual environments, the SOFTWARE solely in OBJECT CODE form and as part of PRODUCTS or in SOURCE CODE form as part of DEVELOPMENT KITS


==> Yes, you can use it for your product, and yes it is royalty-free. The intention of the Community-Stack is to strengthen our PROFINET Ecosystem and therefore be free of charge and offer a possibility to integrate PROFINET.

"Currently, the code from this community is open-sourced after signing a license agreement, but the related Siemens patents are not authorized. I would like to ask: when using this code in commercial products, is it necessary to obtain separate patent authorization from Siemens to avoid the risk of infringement?"

[benja_m]

I want to ensure that my intended use of the Profinet Community Stack is allowed under the Community Stack License. I understand it as allowing my company (a PI member company) to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product. I also understand this to be royalty-free. I am using the example from the community stack's 1.0 release, whose files are licensed under the community stack license, as a base for the adaption for our embedded Linux system.

Our intent is to use the community stack to implement Profinet on our industrial device product, then certify that product through a Profinet Test Center, and then sell that product to our customers. As I understand the license, this entire process should be royalty free with no associated fees for the use of the Profinet Community Stack.


Note that our product is a Profinet Device, not a Profinet Controller.


Is my understanding correct?

According to the license-agreement I would answer the questions like the following:

to use and adapt the code within the Community Stack to create a Profinet adaptation layer for our hardware, then use that adaptation layer in our final product.

PNO grants to LICENSEE with respect to the SOFTWARE and the associated documentation file(s) under its copyrights and intellectual property rights a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to:
2.i: use, have used, copy, have copied, modify, have modified the SOFTWARE in SOURCE CODE form in connection with the development of PRODUCTS or DEVELOPMENT KITS.
2.ii: incorporate and have incorporated the SOFTWARE and/or modified versions thereof in OBJECT CODE form into PRODUCTS and in SOURCE CODE form into DEVELOPMENT KITS,
2.iii: market, have marketed, distribute, have distributed, make available, have made available in any form (e.g. online distribution, subscription and hosting as a service) to third parties for use, have used, copy and have copied in virtual and/or non-virtual environments, the SOFTWARE solely in OBJECT CODE form and as part of PRODUCTS or in SOURCE CODE form as part of DEVELOPMENT KITS


==> Yes, you can use it for your product, and yes it is royalty-free. The intention of the Community-Stack is to strengthen our PROFINET Ecosystem and therefore be free of charge and offer a possibility to integrate PROFINET.

"Currently, the code from this community is open-sourced after signing a license agreement, but the related Siemens patents are not authorized. I would like to ask: when using this code in commercial products, is it necessary to obtain separate patent authorization from Siemens to avoid the risk of infringement?"

Although this is only an indirect answer to your question (and i am not a layer), maybe it is helpful:
If you are a member of PI organization, according to PI you do not need to worry about using these patents. See https://www.profibus.com/pi-organization/membership