Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 05:10:51 -0400 (EDT) From: John Baldwin <jobaldwi@vt.edu> To: unknown@riverstyx.net Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG, rick hamell <hamellr@dsinw.com> Subject: Re: What's wrong with GPL? (was Re: Jordan the Confused) Message-ID: <XFMail.990416051051.jobaldwi@vt.edu> In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.04.9904160124520.32489-100000@hades.riverstyx.net>
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On 16-Apr-99 unknown@riverstyx.net wrote: > But in regards to the GPL, it seems like a fairly innocuous kinda thing. > I write some software, declare it to be GPL'd, and thus guaranteeing that > the source code shall remain available. It doesn't really limit me all > that much. And if I write a new version, I can opt to not release it > under the GPL, freeing me from its burdens should I decide that I want to > go commercial with it. Actually, (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but if you release version 1.0 under GPL, and use any of the 1.0 code in version 2.0 that you try to sell w/o the source, then anyone can sue you for the source code to version 2.0 because it would be a derivative of 1.0 and by the GPL that means the source to 2.0 would have to be GPL'd and thus freely available, which prevents you from selling it, for all intents and purposes. It gets much worse when you have a large propietary product, such as your own OS specific to your application, and you want to add drivers for a newer network card. You wouldn't be able to use GPL'd code because you would screw yourself. You'd have to release the source code to your propietary OS, which your competitors would gladly take from you and sink you. OTOH, such a company can safely use BSL'd code without worrying about having to release the source to their competitors. And let's face it, not all software is going to be free, we do have to eat somehow. So we can't kill all possibility of selling software. > --- > tani hosokawa > river styx internet --- John Baldwin <jobaldwi@vt.edu> -- http://members.freedomnet.com/~jbaldwin/ PGP Key: http://members.freedomnet.com/~jbaldwin/pgpkey.asc "Power Users Use the Power to Serve!" - http://www.freebsd.org To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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