For Approval: Open Source Software Alliance License

Sean Chittenden sean at chittenden.org
Sat Sep 27 17:12:08 UTC 2003


> > > What I'm trying to understand is why you say that incorporating BSD
> > > code in a proprietary product is a good thing and simulataneously
> > > say that incorporating BSD code in a GPL product is a bad thing.
> > 
> > Changes made to the BSD code by the authors of the GPL product are
> > changes that are available only under the GPL.
> 
> Yes, and changes made to the BSD code by the authors of a proprietary
> product are changes that are only available to the authors of the
> proprietary product.
> 
> What's the essential difference?

If the changes are outside of the scope of a business's core, then
maintaining those changes is expensive and it is in the businesses
best interests to release those changes.  The OSSAL prevents those
changes from being licensed under the GPL, making those changes
available to other widget makers.

[snip]

-sc

-- 
Sean Chittenden
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