[VANILLA-L:1469] Re: [VANILLA-L:1467] Re: [VANILLA-L:1457] Discussion

[Dave Ahn <ahn@vec.wfubmc.edu>]

On Tue, Feb 16, 1999 at 02:57:43PM -0500, Eric Frias wrote:
> 
> I'm not sure how it works, exactly, but I've seen several packages with
> dual licenses.

Yeah, this is what I was talking about when I said there was a "workaround."
I'm familiar with releasing software binaries under dual licensing schemes
but not with software source releases with both GPL + non-GPL licenses.
>From talks I had with our school's IP attorney, the licensing has to be
worded carefully to prevent loopholes or loss of coverage.  There are also
some considerations for the release sequence as well as consequences of
development under both licenses.

I'm glad I'm not a lawyer.  :)  Anyway, we could look at some of the public
OSS packages that use dual licensing.

On Tue, Feb 16, 1999 at 12:44:50PM -0800, Tom Holub wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 16, 1999 at 01:57:46PM -0500, Dave Ahn wrote:
> > On Mon, Feb 15, 1999 at 10:34:44PM -0600, Steve Sheldon wrote:
> > > 
> > >  I don't see why you would think the Berkeley license is more restrictive.
> > 
> > I'm sorry, I meant 'less' restrictive.  The BSD license does not require
> > changes to be made public.  This is one of the main reasons cited for the
> > relatively small effort in the BSD arena (despite code maturity) compared
> > to the explosion of Linux/GNU software.
> 
> That's a crock; perl has just as much of an explosion with copyleft, and
> Apache's market share kicks ass over anything Linux or GNU can claim.

Perl, Apache, SSH, PGP and other awesome non-GPL OSS packages are self
sustaining.  They are extremely valuable tools that have commercial viability,
too.  You may be right that there are a larger number of individual OSS apps
that have massive dev/user base without GPL than with it.  But the typical OSS
software is not that big, popular or useful.  Netrek certainly isn't.  And
most of these smaller apps are released under GPL.

> The relatively small effort in the BSD arena is due to the BSD arena
> being populated by pig-headed idiots who value aesthetics over
> functionality, like Dan Bernstein and Theo de Raadt.

This is probably also true.  My claim came from articles published in the
past about GPL vs non-GPL (BSD or otherwise).  There is a measurable
"advantage" that the average GPL software has had over non-GPL software.

I'll try to dig up the articles; they're an interesting read.  BTW, I'm not
trying to start a Linux vs BSD war; merely stimulating discussion about
what kind of license changes (if any) would be appropriate for Netrek.

-- 
Dave Ahn <ahn@vec.wfubmc.edu>        |  "When you were born, you cried and the
                                     |  world rejoiced.  Try to live your life
Virtual Endoscopy Center             |  so that when you die, you will rejoice
Wake Forest Univ. School of Medicine |  and the world will cry."  -1/2 jj^2
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