To be clear: reactjs uses the 3 Clause BSD license. https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/LICENSE

It's incredibly permissive (nearly the same as the MIT license), and does not allow for the concept of having it "revoked".

That's exactly why only a fool would build their software product around patent protection.

I see lots of down voting on this person, but not many replies. Is there truth to this comment? Is React licensing something companies should avoid?

This is the file in question: https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS

Not a fan of FB here. That comment is nonsense. It is completely unthinkable that Facebook would do this.

> It is completely unthinkable that Facebook would do this.

Facebook is a (among many other things) a software company, and software companies do warfare with patents. It might be their least favorite weapon, one they have yet to use - but "unthinkable" can only refer to your beliefs -- it is actually extremely thinkable, even if at this point in time improbable.

The lifetime of JS frameworks is so short that this is not a realistic concern, beyond that the license makes it impossible. Sorry but this is not a scenario that will play out in some way that you'd have to be worried about it when evaluating your choices today.

For react, you are probably right.

I'm really concerned about zstd working its way into some future de-facto standard file format, though - I think the name "zstd" is marketing genius (of the evil kind).

if you're a threat to FB, the unthinkable will happen.

If you're a threat to FB you:

(1) can afford to roll your own framework

(2) can afford the lawyers required to point out that this doesn't hold water

totally true, if you're google, however if you're a startup, and build your platform on react, it would be really hard to switch to other platform once you have million of lines of code.

I didn't know this, this needs to be more well known.

How does this affect libraries like preact?

It's not accurate. Facebook offers a blanket patent license with React, and the patent license (not the software license — just the patent one) terminates if you sue Facebook for patent infringement. And of course, if you sue them for any other reason, nothing happens at all. And even if the patent license is terminated, AFAIK React isn't known to be patent-encumbered.

Acting like this is some landmine that allows Facebook to just put anyone they dislike out of business is ridiculous. Other JavaScript frameworks like Angular and Ember don't even include patent clauses, so even if Facebook revokes the patent grant, that leaves you in the same position that you're in by default with Angular. The license even specifically allows you to counter-sue Facebook if they already have a lawsuit against you.

I think the cause of the complaint is that if they wanted these things in a license, they could've used Apache 2 and been done with it.

Any confusion that arises from deciding to depart from well-understood licenses is fairly laid at their door, in my view.

Apache 2 is somewhat less permissive than Facebook's choice of BSD + patent grant. I agree that people probably wouldn't have been able to spread the FUD so successfully if they'd gone for a more conventional setup, but the licenses are short (probably shorter than Apache combined) and pretty clear. It feels pretty unfair to say "Facebook's open source dev team deserve to have their names run down because they chose more permissive license terms than we're used to."

> Acting like this is some landmine that allows Facebook to just put anyone they dislike out of business is ridiculous.

That's true; however,

> React isn't known to be patent-encumbered.

That's a useless assertion. Many patents only become known once the lawsuits start. Facebook has amassed a patent portfolio, and patents are a legal instrument that can only be used offensively.

Sure, but none of that makes it a useless assertion. I'm not saying React is a magic shield from lawsuits — I'm saying that React doesn't appear to be any more dangerous in this regard than the majority of open-source software. You could validly express the same concerns about nearly anything.

Remember, the claim I was disputing was that "only a fool will use reactjs" because the patent license is conditional. All I'm saying is that I don't see any reason to be more concerned about React than, say, Angular.

It is rather well known but it's mostly FUD.

for those who downvoted me, can you explain why I'm wrong,

Would you believe that Apple today would use react in their products?

What would Steve Jobs say to someone who suggests using react in apple software/saas?

downvoting on HN is being abused here, just because someone is a big fan of reactjs and disagrees with me, they automatically downvote a valid opinion based on facts.

see for yourself, from react patent clause "The license granted hereunder will terminate, automatically and without notice,"

https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS

Yes, Apple is known to use React.

If you are in doubt, the license that could terminate is just the patent grant. The copyright license would remain in effect.

I explained how you're wrong here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14659675

The TL;DR is: "That is just a patent license, and most OSS doesn't even include a patent license at all, so it seems weird to be super-concerned in this case in particular."

You're being down voted because this core bit of your position is a load of crap:

> Choice A. by picking reactjs I'm in a clear violation of FB patents

Please tell us what Facebook patents one is "violating" by using React.

all tech companies file patents to protect their cutting edge technology, so it's common sense FB has patents on react.

your argument of where are the FB patents on react is an example of your naivety

my position all along has been, using other libs than react is LESS likely to violate FB patents, and thus gives more freedom to compete with FB. if that's your definition of load-of-crap, well, that's not my definition.