[Dclug] Where is Linux today?

[Angelo Bertolli]

Johnson, Steve (NIH/OD/ORS) [E] wrote:
> >> . . . why the GPL3 is a good thing.
>  
> Without claiming great expertise in IP legality, this "free" license 
> has strings attached, it isn't something just dumped in the public domain.
> I gotta like this one though "Our General Public Licenses are designed 
> to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free 
> software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code"
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
GPL 2 was the same way though.  People are more willing to freely 
contribute code to a project that they know isn't simply going to be 
used by a third party (company) to improve and sell without giving 
anything back.  At least that's why I prefer to contribute to GPL code.  
Yes, those strings that are attached are what I get "paid" for contributing.

There's nothing inherently wrong with putting things in the public 
domain, and maybe certain types of software or libraries belong there, 
but ... once you put it in the public domain you lose ALL control over 
it.  If you write a piece of software and put it in the public domain, I 
can take it, pretend it's my own and at least give people the impression 
that it's proprietary software.  If you post your software on your home 
page, and I have a popular website to post it on and don't bother to 
tell people that it's public domain software, it is the assumption 
(until proven otherwise) that this is my intellectual property.


Angelo