Yes, these are MySQL's words:
When your application is not licensed under either the GPL-compatible Free Software License as defined by the Free Software Foundation or approved by OSI, and you intend to or you may distribute MySQL software, you must first obtain a commercial license to the MySQL product.
In general, if a program uses a GPL'd peice of software, and does not link into or modify it, or use any of it's code, then its fine and does not get GPL'd.
The GPL is not viral and General Public Virus
Also from that page:
If you develop and distribute a commercial application and as part of utilizing your application, the end-user must download a copy of MySQL; for each derivative work, you (or, in some cases, your end-user) need a commercial license for the MySQL server and/or MySQL client libraries.
I don't know how MySQL get away with saying the above, because what they are saying is rubbish. Why can't another person download a copy of MySQL when it's GPL'd. I suppose it's the terms you except when you use it. That's why I use PostgreSQL, and for other obvious reasons.
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If you develop and distribute a commercial application and as part of utilizing your application, the end-user must download a copy of MySQL; for each derivative work, you (or, in some cases, your end-user) need a commercial license for the MySQL server and/or MySQL client libraries.
I don't know how MySQL get away with saying the above, because what they are saying is rubbish. Why can't another person download a copy of MySQL when it's GPL'd. I suppose it's the terms you except when you use it. That's why I use PostgreSQL, and for other obvious reasons.
MySQL is talking out of their ass :-) The only restrictions under the GPL are on destributing derivative works - according to the GPL itself, linking falls under that, but you don't link against the mysql server directly - you typically link against the mysql client library. My guess is that that's why they changed the client lib's license from LGPL to GPL on version 4. If you use libmysql 3 or write your own client lib, you have no obligations under the GPL. In any case, whether or not the client has to download mysql doesn't effect the licensing terms. Also, the term "commercial application" is (probably deliberately) vague and confusing.
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