Network Computing article: The Law and Open-Source Software

[Loic Dachary]

        Hi,

        There is an urgent need of clarification on:

        http://www.networkcomputing.com/1222/1222ws1.html

        Here are some excerpts:

...

Hence, compiling open-source code with proprietary code forces
developers to contribute back to the open-source community. It doesn't
take a lawyer to tell you that compiling and contributing proprietary
code with GPL-protected code is tantamount to larceny and that the GPL
enforces a closed shop on open-source software, hostile to enterprise
developers. As a result, some vendors are crafting licenses that
promote open-source software to the enterprise.

...


At one time, developers had to worry only about software dependencies and 
incompatibilities. Now they need to worry about license incompatibilities among 
open-source projects. For example, Mozilla includes four different licenses. 
Contributing to this project requires attention to license conflicts.

...

        Coming from someone with no legal background it could be mocked.
But the author bio (Sean Doherty) says:

> Sean earned his JD from the University of California Berkeley School of Law. 

        Therefore I think an article from Till, Mélanie or Axel would be
much better than an article from the usual suspects.

        The author can be reached at:

    * E-Mail: address@hidden
    * Phone: (315) 443-2577
    * Fax: (315) 457-7543
    * Mail: Syracuse University, 4-206 Center for Science and Technology, 
Syracuse NY 13244, ATTN: Sean Doherty

        It's possible (although unlikely IMHO) that the author did not realize
that:

        - The GNU GPL does not force you to do anything, it merely prevents
          you from cripling the freedoms.

        - Compatibility issues between licenses do exist with
          proprietary software licenses. They are usually not
          advertised. They are also rare because in most cases the
          only thing you can do is "use the software". 

        And many others. 

        Please let us know if you can find time to deal with this.

        Cheers, 

-- 
Loic   Dachary         http://www.dachary.org/  address@hidden
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