Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2004 08:41:22 +0100 From: Graham Bentley <gbentley@uk2.net> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: GPL vs BSD Licence Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20041025084122.007cdb50@mail.uk2.net> In-Reply-To: <20041025025435.EEB3916A4D3@hub.freebsd.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Hi List ! Perusing the Internet the other day I came across a short interview with Linus Torvalds from a while back. He was asked about the GPL vs BSD Licence. As I dont fully understand the development process I was wondering if anyone could comment on his reply below? I (mis?)interpret this as follows :- If you use some BSD code in some project that you turn into proprietry code you just need to include the appropriate acknowledgement statements - but you can exclude anyone from using that new code / solution. With the GPL you are explicitly giving away your right to do this whilst at the same time leaving a the door open for others if they want to use your code / solution. Sorry if this has been discussed at length before on the list but I think its an intersting topic and would welcome enlightenment. --- snip --- Q: Do you ever wish you'd opted for a BSD-style license instead of the GPL? LT: Absolutely not. I personally think that the BSD license is a dead end for serious projects, since it inevitably results in forking with no way to re-join if it becomes commercially viable. Forking a project is in my opinion hugely important, since forks are how all real development gets done, and the ability to fork keeps everybody honest (i.e. if you don't do a good job and keep your users happy, they can always fork the project and go on their own) But equally important is the ability to join back forks, when/if some group finds the right solution to a problem. And that's where the GPL comes in: you can really think of the whole license as nothing more than a requirement to be able to re-join a forked project from either side. -- snip --- Edit: Apache/FreeBSD seem to have come along way for a 'non-serious projects' :) Custom PC North West Open Source Solutions http://www.cpcnw.co.uk
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?3.0.6.32.20041025084122.007cdb50>