[tdf-discuss] Copyleft vs. "more permissive" (was: Proposal to join Apache OpenOffice)

Hi BRM, *,

BRM schrieb:
> From: plino <pedlino@gmail.com>

[..]

> Even the GPL does not provide that right. If a company wanted it could
> take a GPL product, make whatever changes it wanted, and distribute
> it internally to itself without ever contributing back to the
> community as a whole.

True. Anyone using it for his own can do so.

> Likewise, it could also distribute that same project to its customers,
> making the source available to them and them alone.

True, they even can demand a fee for it.

> The community will may never see any changes from them; yet that is
> perfectly valid under all Open Source licenses - even the GPL.

Not true. If one of those customers goes ahead and publishes the source
code, that company can't forbid. This is covered by the GPL. That means:
If IBM put copyleft code (LGPL/GPL) in symphony then I could by a copy,
require the source code and publish it.

> Nothing forces people to work with the community. No license can do
> that.

right, but Your example lacks the point I told.

> So please do yourself a favor and put that notion - the myth -
> aside.

50% myth remaining ;o)).

[..]

> they only have to provide the source (in that case) to the end-users
> _upon request_ for up to 3 years for each version they release from
> the time they make the "sale". (See the GPL license.)

Which is enough time to get it, even if donations have to be collected
;o))

> > Under the Apache  license any company can take your code, fix it and
> > say: "Hey, this function  in the open source version doesn't work. I
> > just spend a day fixing it  (instead of  months to write it from
> > scratch). Why don't you buy mine  which works?"

> They can do that under the GPL too.

But we can get it back then. Thats a notable difference ;o))


Gruß/regards
-- 
Friedrich
Libreoffice-Box http://libreofficebox.org/
LibreOffice and more on CD/DVD images


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