Compulsory checkin clauses.

[Chris F Clark]

Clever thought, but you can't capture this private development unless
you use a license like Ross's which captures changes to the source
code.

Suppose company A creates some proprietary software the implements
some API, call this "prop" (malloc would be a good example of this).

Now, company B creates free software the uses the prop interface (say
emacs).

Later, company C creates a free version of prop (say glibc).

Later, company D makes a free software product the merges B & C's
work (say emacs-20).

Now, company E creates an improved proprietary version of prop (say
purify_malloc)--presume company E is not aware of the free (glibc)
version and only of the original code (and does a clean room
implementation of that).

Finally, can company F distribute both emacs-20 and purify_malloc on
the same disk?  Can user G install and build emacs-20 with
purify_malloc for their own private work?  Which, if either of these
situations do you wish to prohibit?  Note, you can't prohibit E from
their development as they are not using either of the free pieces of
code (emacs or glibc) and thus are not bound by the licenses on them.

You might be able to prohibit company G from determining the API of
prop by reading glibc and hiring company E to build a proprietary
version, but not company E from doing it based upon the original
proprietary version (or from a public doman spec).  Moreover, in that
case who would you sue over E's sales of the proprietary version.

These are very similar to the restrictions put on Trade Secret
information.  Non-disclosure agreements have all sort of wording to
deal with the case, where someone else has leaked the secret
information and the person unser non-disclosure acquires it from the
leak.  A non-proprietary agreement is in many ways analogous to a
non-disclosure agreement.

Hope this helps,
-Chris

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Chris Clark                    Internet   :  compres at world.std.com
Compiler Resources, Inc.       Web Site   :  http://world.std.com/~compres  
3 Proctor Street               voice      :  (508) 435-5016
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