Re: Realtime/embedded project to help with employment.

[Marin David Condic <nobody@noplace.com>]

Why not some middle ground? Its not as if its an either/or proposition. 
Either you give away the software totally free of charge & restriction 
or you lock it up in a vault and insist on millions for it? Why not do 
something that says "Here is this software in source code form. You can 
use it at home or on your job. You can modify it if you like. You can 
pass it on to your friends. You can build something bigger using it and 
I won't make you adopt my license for your software. What you *can't* do 
with my software is sell it for profit or incorporate it into some other 
product/service wherein it adds value. Not unless you compensate me."

We could worry about how to collect the compensation as a separate 
matter, but it seems reasonable to me that the above form of license 
would provide all the good things you identified for the GPL without 
depriving you of the right to get compensated if you happen to release 
the next Linux to the next RedHat.

MDC


Warren W. Gay VE3WWG wrote:

> 
> Compare this to:
> 
> I create something amazing useful (at least to some people), but
> I license it under terms like M$ EULA. Well, this will just drive
> many people using it for personal use into piracy, or will just
> eliminate it being used generally.
> 
> What do I get out of this?  Maybe a few license fees.
> 

-- 
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Marin David Condic
I work for: http://www.belcan.com/
My project is: http://www.jast.mil/

Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g

     "In general the art of government consists in taking as
     much money as possible from one class of citizens to give
     to the other."

         --  Voltaire
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