[lwip-users] ¿GPL or BSD?

[Sergio PérezAlcañiz]

Kieran Mansley wrote:

>>On Tue, 11 Mar 2003, Sergio PérezAlcañiz wrote:
>> Why not?? GPL code is open, anyone can modify it, add things, and more,
>> but always under the terms of the license which say you must keep the
>> license and author names, copyright, etc.. Those little restrictions
>> added by GPL are those we need, and maybe lwip-users also.
>>
>This was discussed a few months ago, and there was a lot of resistance to
>switching to a GPL licence.  The problem with GPL is that you can't use
>the code commercially.  A lot of people are using lwIP in commercial
>products, and contributing back to lwIP as a result.
>
>I'm not sure on the exact technicalities, but I think you can, in theory,
>take code that is BSD licenced and redistribute it under a GPL licence as
>long as you do everything it says in the BSD licence.  But, I think this
>would be very rude.
>
>What you would effectively be doing is something like this:
>
>some-lwip-developer: "Hi, we've made some changes to the lwIP stack,
>which we needed for our commericial product, but have contributed them to
>the open source tree.  Anyone can use them."
>
>sergio: "Great that's just what I need, I've made some changes too, but
>I'm not going to allow you to use them.  You can read the source if you
>like, but you can't make use of it"
>
>Doesn't seem fair to me!
>
>Do you have a copy of the licence you are hoping to use?  Is it the normal
>GPL licence (you've referred to is as GLP and GPS so far, which I'd
>assumed were typos, but maybe it's something different?)
>
>Kieran



The BSD license do not protect the freedom of the author in the sense that any 
company can just take the code and sell it (using that code with its own 
product, or even compiling the BSD code and selling with no new functionality 
added). And the BSD do not force that company to give any good in return, 
that is, the company that is selling the programs do not have to return to 
the community (the original author) neither new code nor money.

The GPL prevents a malicious company of making money selling the
"effort" 
(code, design, etc.) of other people. Getting for free (gratis) the code 
(work) of other people and selling it for a fee, which is in my 
understanding, pretty close to the idea of robbery (sell something that is 
not yours). At least, as a developer, I think that that behaviour is immoral 
although legal (because the BSD permits to do it).

The GPL gives to the developer the protection against that not desirable 
situation.

On the other hand, GPL code can be used by companies with not problem at all.
If the GPL code states clearly the boundaries of the GPL code (please, see the
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html), a company can use
(link) the GPL 
code and sell ITS PRODUCT in a closed way. All the development done by that 
company in its home made code is absolutely under the control of the company, 
but if the company improves the GPL code then the code belongs to the 
community which created it.

Using the GPL will increase the development of the lwIP, because the companies 
that use it will return to the community its improvements. Otherwise, 
companies act like a black box that takes code and returns nothing.

Regards.