This is a very On 2/27/07, Crosbie Fitch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: Asheesh Laroia > > I just want to point out here that the "If you distribute modified > > binaries, you must also distribute modified source code" provision of the > > GNU General Public License - the key tenet of "copyleft" proposed by the > > Free Software Foundation - would not work without copyright. > > This is a tricky one. > > The reason why the GPL obliges no obfuscation, is because copyright > incentivises obfuscation. > > Howver, without copyright, no-one will buy obfuscated software because it > will be given away for nothing. People will only pay for software in the > form of source code - for then they will actually have the software they are > buying, rather than simply the use of it (which they will already have for > nothing as a promotional demo for the real thing). Why? What if object code only was offered for less money? I would think the absense of copyright would make source code disclosure all the more unlikely for parties already disposed to keep it secret. If secrecy reduces the efficacy of competition, we should expect secrecy to continue in commercial contexts.
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