License Question

[David Johnson]

On Wednesday 20 June 2001 09:58 pm, Mitchell Baker wrote:

> The Mozilla Public License allows one to charge for executable versions of
> products built using MPL code. The source version of MPL code must
> always be available free of charge under the MPL. But one is allowed
> take that source code, compile it and sell the executables. his may
> be hard since others can do the same. But if you have the brand, or
> user base that will pay for this, then one is free to do it.

First, turn off the html formatting in your email client :-(

Second, the MPL is hardly the only license that allows this. As I recall, so 
do all other open source licenses. You might not be able with some to 
explicitly charge for the software itself, but you can charge a reasonable 
fee for copying and media. Go check out what the FSF charges for their 
software. In my mind that stretches the boundaries of what is reasonable :-) 

I think what the original poster was asking, was whether it was possible to 
be assured of payment for commercial use. No open source license allows this, 
as nothing prevents the consumer from aquiring it from someone other than the 
producer.

But since some licenses prohibit derivation in closed source products, and 
since the vast majority of commercial software is closed source, offering the 
software under an option of either open source or closed source licensing is 
a viable means to achieve this.

It sounds to me like Stephane's software is a library of sorts, since he says 
"if the Sofware is used in a commercial application". Trolltech is 
commercially successful with their library, so I suggested that route.

-- 
David Johnson
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