Attention to detail is important here. Please re-read what I wrote. On Nov 6, 2007 10:22 AM, Roy Feldman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > On Fri, 2007-11-02 at 03:53 -0400, Tom Morris wrote: > > > ArgoUML could switch to the GPL v2 now, and announce that it will consider > > requests for a different license. This would allow any serious large > > companies to approach ArgoUML to do extensions. > > That doesn't work. The only way have clear provenance for the source > code is to get *all* contributors to contractually agree to the new > license if its terms conflict with the old license. [...] Going from > BSD to anything else is a special case because the starting license is > so permissive. > > If getting explicit consent of all the contributors to ArgoUML is an > absolute necessity, then that is very serious > issue. > > Getting authors/contributors consent to go from BSD to anything else is * *not** required because the license already allows it. Following your suggestion to switch to GPL v2 with an open ended intention of offering alternative commercial licenses in the future, but without putting in place the necessary contractual agreements to support this, is what doesn't work. Without doing the work up front, you'd have to go back to all contributors to the derivative work (post-fork) and get agreements in place with them retroactively. If we were to put in place such a contributors agreement, it would only make sense if it were required of all contributors -- including you. If the ArgoUML team then executed a commercial license with one of your competitors, you're right back in the situation that you wanted to prevent of a competitor using your improvements in competition with you. > Until we know what our options are on this issue Tom has raised, it is > pointless > to expend our energies on this list debating the pros and cons of various > open source licenses. > > I disagree. No lawyers are required for something as simple as this. I'd like to see this discussion driven to a conclusion one way or the other. We waste far too much time in discussions which have no decisive outcome. Tom
