On 2/29/08, PcgScrapAddy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > But does the MIT license allow for a built-in revenue stream?
No, but Traversal isn't selling software. And if we ever did, it would likely be an end-user app that we'd license under GPL. > My current > understanding is someone, once the project is done and making > boards/chips, could swoop in and grab all your docs/code/etc. and then > produce their own board at a much lower cost and leave you high and dry. Possibly, but the GPL won't protect us from that any more than MIT. > What protections have you factored into the project to handle a > situation such as that? Mostly the idea that people should pay a licensing fee for commercial use of the hardware that doesn't comply with the GPL. So, yes, if someone cloned OGD1 under the GPL, that would suck for Traversal, but that would be fine for the Free Software community as a whole. > Under that scenario you have an instant competitor without them having > incurred any cost. We thought about all of this more than three years ago when we were starting out. RMS suggested that we may want to hold back on releasing some of the HDL for OGA for a time until we have recouped our development costs. This is about the best protection we can get. As for OGD1, it's a test of concept. We've released all design documents under GPL. Will someone undercut us and put us out of business? If that did happen, it would be an eye-opener to the Free Software community that their philosophy isn't perfect, that people can get screwed for their generosity. > If the point is to just get open hardware out there > and damn the ramifications then ok This is SOME of the point. But do be sure that I and the others at Traversal will do our best to protect our investment. > but if you are looking to seal up > deals where your chipset funds ongoing work then you may have a problem > since nvidia and ati will both scoop on that in a heartbeat. Like I say, the only protection for OGA (the 3D engine design) is to not release all of the HDL right away. I've gotten a lot of flak for that idea, although I started getting a whole lot less when RMS suggested it and let me quote him on it. > Not trying to be a downer here but you can trust business weenies about > as much as politicians and lawyers so ... We have the best legal protections that we CAN have given the circumstances. -- Timothy Normand Miller http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti Open Graphics Project _______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
