> > All philosophy........ > > If you were writing the GPL today... > > > > 1) having seen a big software company (Microsoft) fight off legal > > battles with the US Gov't [let alone you, or the FSF on your behalf], > > and, > > Unfair comparison. The DoJ is susceptible to political maneuverings. > It's currently seized defeat from the jaws of victory. Microsoft didn't > win the law, they won the politics.
Hmm. Perhaps. There will be pressure points (outside of the law) regardless of who is fighting. Who would be a 'fair' comparison? > > > 2) having seen other companies recently heed pressure from people > > involved with this list to bring their activies in line with licensed > > software they were working from/with and under the intent of > > 'opensource', > > Point to specific examples. Those are the examples. I knew you'd remember them. 8^) > > There are two general situations we've seen listed here: > > - License noncompliance (particularly GPL). > > - Confusing or misleading use of the term "open source" (which is not > a registered trademark for the purposes of discussion). > > In the first case, the legal feasability of crossing licensing terms is > seen as low. Even by Microsoft (I've direct experience with this). What do you mean by this? > > 2) because it is better understood it is picked as the preferred > > license for software, thus increasing the breadth of people > > knowledgable in its intent, etc etc, > > Positive feedback. Yes. > > > 3) clear language and legalese are both open to interpretation. Yet > > isn't it better for all to understand the license's intent rather > > than write it in strict legal terms which are confusing at the best > > of times? > > These aren't mutually exclusive propositions. It's possible to write > language that's both clear and binding (an opinion, nonlegal). I > believe that in software, law, and accounting, transparancy is an > extremely valuable, and too often underappreciated, characteristic. They aren't mutually exclusive in theory, but seem to be in practical use. -- Steve Mallett | Stable, Open-Source Apps [EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://OSDir.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://open5ource.net <GPG, Voice, etc.> "Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good." -- Mohandas Gandhi -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3
