On Wed, 1 Jul 2009, twistadias wrote:
> Me and a few of my mates from uni want to start on building and
> selling some android apps. The problem is one of us is really keen to
> make the whole thing open source.
>
> If we do go ahead and make it open, wont anyone be able to download
> the source and run it on their phone instead of purchasing it from the
> app store?
Not strictly speaking. There is a difference between "open source" and "free
software". If you are the size of AT&T, the Windows operating system itself
is "open source," as Microsoft will provide the Windows source code to anyone
who pays for that privilege. The source is disclosed only under NDA terms,
but it is still technically open source, even with the proprietary license.
> Im kinda in a dilemma as to which path to take. Any help would be
> appreciated.
You have three choices:
* License binary-only copies of the software to users for a fee,
* License binary-only copies of the software to users for a fee, and license
source code copies of the software to others for a fee (this is technically
then, "open source", as the source is no longer exclusively kept secret,
though it remains under your control), or
* Sell the binary and provide source code with it under a free software
license. You will need to carefully consider which free software license
meets your needs.
By the sound of it, you probably do not want to use the BSD or MIT/X11
software licenses for your software, as that would enable others to make
modifications and sell the enhanced software a proprietary software should
they elect to do so. The GPL is probably closer to what you want in this
case; you still sell the app in the store (and provide source code in download
form), and others can use your source code, but they must distribute any
changes to the source if they also distribute a modified binary. That means
that you benefit from the changes that are made, and can incorporate them and
sell them (though note that if you change licenses later, you will have to
remove any code that is licensed incompatably).
As this is more or less off-topic here, I would ask that you reply by private
mail should you have any more questions; either I can answer them or point you
to resources that can, if I cannot.
--- Mike
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Android Beginners" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/android-beginners?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
