license idea

Ryo Chijiiwa ryo at ilohamail.org
Wed Jul 16 02:37:12 UTC 2003


Hi,

I'm the author of a PHP-based webmail client called IlohaMail
(http://ilohamail.org) currently released under the GPL, and am
considering offering my software under a license that would maintain its
free (as in speech) nature but not necessarily be free (as in beer) in
certain circumstances.

Basically, what I had in mind was:

1)  Individuals,  and non-profit/academic institutions are granted usage
under GPL-like terms
2)  For-profit organizations may re-distribute the software, however if
they charge more than a reasonable "distribution" fee, they must pay
royalties to the project.
3)  For-profit organizations that deploy or distribute a modified version
of the software must either:
        a)  contribute changes back to the project
    -OR-
        b)  pay a license fee

The basic idea is to make the relationship between corporate users and
open source developers more reciprocal, while maintaining the spirit of
open source.  If corporations receive software from open source
developers that allow them to add value to their services, then they
should reciprocate in some way.

Some of the questions I have are:
1)  Are there re-usable licenses like this out there?
2)  Would this conflict with the Open Source Definition?
3)  Where can I get help writing licenses?

Thanks,
Ryo Chijiiwa
ilohamail.org
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