The OSD and commercial use

[maa at liacc.up.pt]

Dear list:

The Open Source Definition seems to prevent a license from requiring 
commercial users to pay the authors of the software a fee (cf. clause 6, and 
perhaps 1, OSD version 1.9)

Why?

Consider a business model with this basis: the software is distributed freely, 
but if someone makes money using it, then the authors are entitled to a just 
compensation. Method: the software is distributed under a license that 
requires that if anyone uses the software in a business then they must pay the 
authors, thru their representative (the business), a negotiated fee.

Is this model 'bad' in any way? Are the stated rationales for clauses 6 and 1 
really 'against' it? Every open source commentary text recalls the 
orthogonally of the commercial and open source aspects. Shouldn't _this_ 
rationale require a license of the type I propose be possible?

Thanks a lot,
--MAA

(Mário Amado Alves, researcher with the Univ. Oporto, considering starting a 
business)



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