New Essay - "FOSS Licences Wars"

[Shlomi Fish]

On Sunday 23 August 2009 08:49:09 Ori Idan wrote:
> > I do completely understand the attractiveness of the MIT license. It's
> > simple
> > and can't come back to bite you later. I'm just saying the GPL has plenty
> > of
> > benefits.
> >
> > I am not sure I understand.
>
> MIT license can't come back and bite me?
> Correct me if I am wrong but in MIT license someone can take my software
> and make it proprietary, add some features and sell it.

He cannot take *your* software directly. Your original applications remain 
under the X11 licence, and other people who've downloaded them can make them 
or derived works stay X11Led. What is possible is that someone will make a 
derived copy, and sub-license it. 

What he meant by "can't come back to bite you later" was that you cannot be 
sued for deficiencies in the code or otherwise be harmed in any way as the 
originator of the program, if you make it X11Led.

> If it was GPL he/she could still sell it but I had the same option since I
> can see his/her additions to the software.

Right. Personally, as a creator of software licensed under permissive 
licences, I'm not worried about people making derived works non-free, and in 
fact sometimes I even find it desirable. (Like the case of the shareware 
Freecell 3-D program that incorporated Freecell Solver). And some people and 
organisations have a natural aversion from the GPL or even the LGPL, which 
making your program X11L or similar happily avoids. 

Regards,

	Shlomi Fish

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Shlomi Fish       http://www.shlomifish.org/
"The Human Hacking Field Guide" - http://xrl.us/bjn8q

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