Excluded Purpose of License not clear. Confluent Community License
<p>First time asking something on Law Stack Exchange and I am not sure if it is the right place. Usually use Stackoverflow but my question fits there even less.</p>
<p>I have Problems understanding the Confluent Community License. It is mostly Apache 2.0 but has an Excluded Purpose clause.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Excluded Purpose” is making available any software-as a-service,
platform-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service or other similar
online service that competes with Confluent products or services that
provide the Software.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From the few examples, they provide here it gets not clear to me (IT Student). If I am allowed to use it in my cases.
<a href="https://www.confluent.io/confluent-community-license-faq/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.confluent.io/confluent-community-license-faq/</a></p>
<p>They state:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Can I download, modify, or redistribute the code? <br>
Yes. The code is all still right there on GitHub.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Can I embed Confluent Community software in software I distribute? <br>
Yes, you can.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Can I embed Confluent Community software in a SaaS offering I create? <br>
Yes, provided the SaaS offering does not fall within the “Excluded Purpose” discussed above.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The simplest case that would solve all problems first.</p>
<p>Case 1:
I can go to a Customer install a simple Client with Confluent and charge a lot of money. The Customer will use it only for internal purpose. Does this count as a Competing use?  The first Statment says this is fine?
(The problem is not fixed. if the customer has the Licensing problem now)</p>
<p>Case 2:
Just like Case 1 but the environment I install Confluent has no possible access to Internet or the Hosted Services of Confluent. So it does not compete with “online” Services?</p>
<p>Case 3:
A Customer has a diverse set of my products and I want to provide a Centralized Interface to Data, generated only from my Products. I do not provide any Consuming use. I only provide Confluent to look into the data.</p>
<p>Case 4: (I know at least this would be ok)
I use Confluent within my Product family to produce and Consume Data. My Customer has no access to Confluent directly.</p>
<p>For me (a person with little understanding of law) this seems imprecise. Is this now good or bad for me?</p>
<p>Thanks for any Help in Advance I am also happy for recommendations where to put this question if this is the wrong place for it.</p>

<h2>I don’t see any imprecision</h2>
<p>Is what you are doing an “as-a-service” (i.e. a Cloud computing thing)?</p>
<p>If no, it’s not an “Excluded Purpose”.</p>
<p>If yes, does it:</p>
<ol>
<li>Compete with a Confluent product, or</li>
<li>Compete with a service that provides Confluent software?</li>
</ol>
<p>If no, it’s not an “Excluded Purpose”.</p>
<p>If yes, it is.</p>

licensing