Is Microsoft anti-GPL ?
From: hutch-- (hutch_at_movsd.com)
Date: 12/12/04
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Date: 12 Dec 2004 03:57:15 -0800
Sorry about the message placement but google is still partially broken
from here in Australia.
Percival,
What I wrote implies what I wrote in response to Penang's question
about Microsoft licences for individual products that the either give
away or sell. The contents, restrictions and usage rules for GPL
software are contained in the published licence from the GNU
organisation.
I can safely say that GPL is a restricted licence by its own
definition and content that imposed restrictions on code usage and
ownership that commercial software does not.
Likewise commercial software with its various licences imposed
restrictions that GPL does not such as the capacity to redistribute
it, modify it and so on.
What you are confronted with are two different systes with the later
one trying to take over the earlier on by weight of dependence and
restriction on code reuse.
Generally commercial software production tools do not force you to
publish anything and in many instances does not allow you to publish
ANY of its contents. With commercial software production tools, you
actually OWN what you write and can distribute it in any way you like
including selling it as closed source software where this is
specifically excluded under GPL.
The inclusion of commercial code is generally part of the software
rights in things like supplied source code and libraries and the reuse
without publishing your own code is a right you have purchased,
something you cannot do under GPL.
The only unrestricted rights you have with code is code that you OWN
and with commercial software you CAN own your own code and distribute
it as you like where with GPL software you cannot if you use ANY of
it.
Effectively pick your target, pick your licence. If you want to write
GPL code, it is your right to do so if you use tools that are licenced
under GPL where with commercial code if you want to own your own code
and distribute it as you like, BUY it and own what you write. As
someone else wrote the software you BUY, its not your to distribute in
most instances but what you write is yours.
Regards,
hutch at movsd dot com
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