Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 13:56:25 -0700 From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> To: Jonathon McKitrick <jcm@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> Cc: rdls@jezebel.demon.co.uk, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Your misconceptions about the GPL Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.19991123135227.046b6a70@localhost> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.02A.9911232046480.58822-100000@dogma.freebsd-uk .eu.org> References: <4.2.0.58.19991123130316.04607100@localhost>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
At 08:49 PM 11/23/1999 +0000, Jonathon McKitrick wrote: > >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. > >Correct me if i'm wrong, but you are referring here to the BSD license, >correct? Then what can the original author charge for? How is the basic >functionality 'free' if it is sold commercially? When a product is published under *either* the GPL or the BSD license, the market value of its functionality is set at zero because it is available for free. The BSD license, however, allows a developer to add improvements and attempt to market the result. Any profit which that developer derives from doing so will be solely the result of the functionality he has added, since the base functionality is already available for free. Thus, he has not "taken" anything -- his profits, if any, are the result of his own efforts. The GPL, however, begrudges the developer even the chance to profit from additions which are uniquely his. It thus undermines him and threatens his livelihood. --Brett Glass To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?4.2.0.58.19991123135227.046b6a70>