I am new here and have a question about which ways SuiteCRM can be used as a business tool. I would like to modify/customize SuiteCRM to fit the industry our business is in. But would like to know if I am allowed to charge a fee for users to use the modified CRM on my server. I would not be selling copies of the SuiteCRM, but only giving login access for use as a service.
Is this even allowed? If so, would I also have to provide a copy of the modified/custom version of the CRM to anyone who wants it?
It’s confusing on the part where the license says if you host a modified copy of the CRM publicly on your own server, then you must provide a copy for download for free. But it seems like it means only if you plan to distribute copies. But I don’t plan to do that.
Can anyone clarify this? Or point me in the right direction to find out? :unsure:
A lawyer who specializes in open source is critical if you are going to start a business around it. Get very familiar with http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.html.
Basically you can do what you want, but you must make available a reasonable method to request and get the source code for your users. You do not have to make your source publicly accessible or honor anyone’s request. Only to your users who are using your code base. Be aware that they can then turn around and use your code however they would like within the constraints of the AGPL license.
