Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 13:08:44 -0700 From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> To: rdls@jezebel.demon.co.uk, Jonathon McKitrick <jcm@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Your misconceptions about the GPL Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.19991123130316.04607100@localhost> In-Reply-To: <383AB4A4.9B471944@trltech.co.uk> References: <Pine.BSF.4.02A.9911231448550.54785-100000@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org>
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At 03:37 PM 11/23/1999 +0000, Richard Smith wrote: >Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can choose to release _my_ product under >both the GPL and my commercial licence, charging for the latter. You can try. But when you release code under the GPL, you set the market value of its functionality at zero (since an informed consumer will not pay for it if it is available for free). This means that it is unwise for another developer to pay to license your code, because he is paying money for something whose market value is zero. Likewise, a user who buys an enhanced version of your product (if you publish one) will only pay for the value of the incremental enhancements you have made. >What the GPL prevents is people taking my GPLed product If you publish your source under a license such as the BSD license, they are not "taking" it. You have already freely given it, which is a good thing. What's more, if that person makes money from a derived work, his profit (if any; most software companies don't ever make money) will likewise stem only from HIS improvements -- because the base functionality is already available for free. --Brett To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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