request feedback on a new licence profile

[Chuck Swiger]

Ernest Prabhakar wrote:
> On Jan 12, 2005, at 1:28 AM, Darren Duncan wrote:
>> I will be releasing some new software within a few months that I 
>> developed from scratch and hold the sole copyright on.  I want it to be
>> licensed under terms that are as close to 'freedom software' as possible
>> but also allow me to have a good personal return on my work.
[ ... ]
> While your goals may be admirable, as Ian noted they sound incompatible 
> with open source, and thus not entirely appropriate for this list.  Does 
> anyone know a better list for questions like this?

Nope-- but I would be in favor of splitting up this list into a low-volume 
moderated list for announcements from the OSI board and license proposals, and 
a high-volume list to discuss licences, answer questions like Darren's, and 
permit a slightly broader range of topics than the low-volume list.

> If you want to make it more of a legacy, you could add a term to your 
> license saying something like "After 2010, this version of the source 
> code will automatically become covered by the following terms:", then 
> cite the BSD license or some such.  Its up to you to decide how long of 
> a timeframe makes sense, and to update the license appropriately for 
> each new version.

I recognize this.  :-)  Darren, consider a license like:

http://www.pkix.net/~chuck/Licenses/ENRL.html

This is not an OSD-compliant open source license because it prohibits 
commercial redistribution.  Anyone interested in reselling your software would 
need to discuss the matter with you and come to an agreement, which seems to 
suit your intentions, but the licensed software would become open in due time.

-- 
-Chuck