Re: wxPython Licence vs GPL

Mike Meyer wrote:
"Martin P. Hellwig" <mhellwig@xxxxxxxxx> writes: 
If the non-techie is still interested, I'll rave on about that I
understand why GPL is a good way to ensure availability of IP
especially if the software is a collaborated effort in the academic
scene.


Your comment about the GPL "ensuring availability" would imply that
other-licensed software has a tendency to become unavailable. Do you
know of any examples of such?

<mike

Yes, it happens on a regular bases that *BSD's are ported to a particular platform or devices and that the necessary changes to make it work that way are not released back (eg Ironport mail systems). Other examples are extensions of other software to fill a particular need that are kept close for a binary only sale (eg Mammoth PostgreSQL + Replication).

There are numerous other examples, most of them are "company secrets".

Note that I do not have any objections to it, if I owned a company making profit on software sales (sale =! support) you sign a death wish for using GPL, if it's coupled with a device then things are different.
If you sell support, GPL is a wonderful way to maximize your income.

--
mph
.