Which license to choose?

[Kevin Hunter]

Hullo List,

A friend, "Joe", has recently asked me what license he should use for
his project.  Without getting into specifics there are two parts to
consider:

 - code part
 - database part

Part 1: The Code Segment

For the code part, what Joe would eventually like is for users to be
able to freely engage and modify his code, but he wants to ensure that
they give back any updates, fixes, or enhancements they make.  Pretty
standard stuff, so ideally the GPL.  However, he notes that the GPL
tends to scare away business ventures, which he absolutely does not want
to do.  Nor does he appreciate the viral nature of the GPL -- that is,
he wants folks to be able to use his product without forcing them to GPL
their code as well.

So his next inclination was the BSD license.  But then he thought that
as the "do what you want license," it's too loose.  He might never get
back any changes folks or commercial ventures might make.

A happy medium resides with the LGPL then, as folks can still use his
code, and not be forced go LGPL their own code, right?

A question then arises with the fact that his code relies on several
other GPL products, like GLPK.  Can he distribute his product with both
GPL code that he did *not* originate, and LGPL code that he did?


Part 2: The Database Segment

The more interesting case is the database.  Joe has put a fair amount of
work into honing his database -- both the schema and the included data
-- which the code must use to produce results.

The issue is this: he doesn't want other people using his database with
incorrect or misunderstood changes to the code or data, then advertising
what are -- effectively -- erroneous results in the same breath as "used
Joe's product."  In other words he wants to make available for the
community the project that he developed for his personal research, but
doesn't want the bad press if they use it in an ill-thought manner.

I realize that the Apache License addresses this with it's 6th item
"Trademarks".  But does that cover the case where folks should give back
improvements to the database as well?  The database (schema AND data)
and code are symbiotic creatures: without the other, each are fairly
useless on their own.

In the end, he wants to share his work as a Free project, but he wants
to both "be business friendly" and "cover his butt" (so to speak).

Does the list have any suggestions (and reasoning behind them!) about
how to license his project?

Thanks!

Kevin