Both your and Andre's point clear it up rather well. I figured you
hashed this all out to the n-degree but it doesn't hurt to ask, other
than the time it wastes to type out the email. But it is in print for
all to see so maybe that will save some time down the road.
Timothy Normand Miller wrote:
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.
_______________________________________________
Open-graphics mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics
List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
