Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2012 18:01:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Jared Barneck <rhyous@yahoo.com> To: Chad Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com>, Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> Cc: "freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org" <freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org> Subject: Re: Good resources for BSDL vs. GPL? Message-ID: <1338771699.64933.YahooMailNeo@web130206.mail.mud.yahoo.com> In-Reply-To: <20120603172537.GA31094@hemlock.hydra> References: <4FCABA18.4020405@FreeBSD.org> <20120603172537.GA31094@hemlock.hydra>
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I helped out with licensing at my last company and I wrote this, mostly for= the table it contains.=0Ahttp://www.rhyous.com/2010/04/02/differences-betw= eent-the-bsdfreebsd-copyrights-and-the-the-gnu-public-license-gpl/=A0=0A=0A= =A0=0AJared Barneck=0A=0A=0A________________________________=0A From: Chad = Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com>=0ATo: Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> =0ACc: f= reebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.org =0ASent: Sunday, June 3, 2012 11:25 AM=0ASubjec= t: Re: Good resources for BSDL vs. GPL?=0A =0AOn Sat, Jun 02, 2012 at 06:12= :56PM -0700, Doug Barton wrote:=0A> Does anyone have a good resource for an= objective discussion of GPL vs.=0A> BSDL? The upstream for one of the port= s I maintain is considering=0A> switching licenses, and I'd like to present= some non-inflammatory facts=0A> for him to consider.=0A> =0A> Please cc me= on replies, since I'm not subscribed to this list.=0A=0AI think you may fi= nd it difficult to track down resources that appear=0Aentirely nonpartisan = *and* do not present inaccurate views of how=0Asoftware licensing works.=A0= There is a fair bit of misunderstanding on the=0Aissue in the world.=A0 Th= ose who actually know a fair bit about the matter=0Atend to have gotten to = that point because of an intense interest=0Amotivated by a distinct prefere= nce for one or the other.=0A=0AThat having been said, I'll direct you to so= me resources I think are=0Aconvincing as counterpoints to common "wisdom", = explaining some instances=0Awhere reality diverges from what a lot of peopl= e believe they know about=0Ahow open source licensing works, particularly o= n the matter of copyfree=0Alicenses (such as the various BSD licenses) vers= us copyleft licenses=0A(such as the various GNU licenses).=0A=0AThe followi= ng list (presented in alphabetical order) is long.=A0 I'm afraid=0Athe vagu= eness of the specific conditions of your need for such references=0Amakes i= t difficult for me to narrow down the list items to the most=0Arelevant.=A0= I hope this helps.=A0 If you have concerns not addressed in this=0Alist, l= et me know and I'll see if I can dig something up or otherwise=0Ahelp out.= =0A=0A=A0 =A0 Advancement Through License Simplicity=0A=A0 =A0 http://univa= cc.net/?page=3Dlicense_simplicity=0A=A0 =A0 (relevant to technical and soci= al benefits of permissive licensing)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Advocacy's Fifth Column= =0A=A0 =A0 http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=3D972=0A=A0 =A0 (relevant to advocacy= effectiveness)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 BSD/Copyfree vs. Corporate Copyleft=0A=A0 =A0 = http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=3D622=0A=0A=A0 =A0 BSD License Vs. Copyright Ass= ignment=0A=A0 =A0 http://lwn.net/Articles/368449/=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Choose The R= ight Licensing Model For Security Software=0A=A0 =A0 http://blogs.techrepub= lic.com.com/security/?p=3D610=0A=A0 =A0 (relevant to technical and social b= enefits of permissive licensing)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Code Reuse and Technological = Advancement=0A=A0 =A0 http://blogstrapping.com/?page=3D2011.060.00.28.21=0A= =A0 =A0 (relevant to technical and social benefits of permissive licensing)= =0A=0A=A0 =A0 Copyfree Initiative=0A=A0 =A0 http://copyfree.org/=0A=0A=A0 = =A0 Copyfree Is Not The New Copyleft.=0A=A0 =A0 http://blog.appamatto.com/2= 011/12/04/copyfree-is-not-the-new-copyleft.html=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Copyfree vs Co= pyleft=0A=A0 =A0 http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/Copyfree_vs_Copyleft=0A=0A=A0 = =A0 GNU/Linux vs. Open Source Software=0A=A0 =A0 http://sob.apotheon.org/?p= =3D607=0A=0A=A0 =A0 GPL vs=A0BSD=0A=A0 =A0 http://eksith.wordpress.com/2008= /11/24/gpl-vs-bsd/=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Legal Considerations When Using Free Softwa= re In IT Consulting Projects=0A=A0 =A0 http://www.techrepublic.com/project-= management/?p=3D1363=0A=0A=A0 =A0 MEPIS GPL Compliance FAQ=0A=A0 =A0 http:/= /www.mepis.org/gpl-compliance-faq=0A=A0 =A0 (relevant to the unintended con= sequences of the GPL)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 MS: Freedom Is Slavery; FSF: Slavery Is = Freedom=0A=A0 =A0 http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=3D70=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Promote Open= ness: Custom Applications And Standardized Formats=0A=A0 =A0 http://blogs.t= echrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=3D2248=0A=A0 =A0 (relevant to promoting o= pen data formats)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 RMS And The FSF: One Map, One Flashlight, No= Ass In Sight=0A=A0 =A0 http://sob.apotheon.org/?p=3D79=0A=0A=A0 =A0 The Ec= onomic Case Against the GPL=0A=A0 =A0 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=3D928=0A=0A= =A0 =A0 The Problem With GPL Thinking=0A=A0 =A0 http://sob.apotheon.org/?p= =3D236=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Why Copyfree=0A=A0 =A0 http://files.stdrand.com/why_cop= yfree.txt=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Why We Should Allow DRM On Open Source Platforms=0A= =A0 =A0 http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=3D2633=0A=A0 =A0 (r= elevant to licenses that allow vs. disallow DRM)=0A=0A=A0 =A0 Why You Shoul= d Use A BSD Style License For Your Open Source Project=0A=A0 =A0 http://www= .freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/bsdl-gpl/article.html=0A=0AIn the= case of older articles, many links may be broken due to=0Areorganizing at = the target sites and other changes that could have=0Aresulted in target art= icles being moved or deleted.=0A=0AFull Disclosure: I wrote a lot of the ar= ticles listed above (though not=0Aall of them).=0A=0A-- =0AChad Perrin [ or= iginal content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]=0A__________________= _____________________________=0Afreebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org mailing list= =0Ahttp://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-advocacy=0ATo unsubscr= ibe, send any mail to "freebsd-advocacy-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
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