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Sun's Schwartz Attacks GPL

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the release-the-claws dept.

jskelly writes "Sun Micro President Jonathan Schwartz attacked the GPL at the Open Source Business Conference in San Francisco yesterday.Other than the same old arguments (you can't make it proprietary later) he adds that it imposes on developing nations "a rather predatory obligation to disgorge all their IP back to the wealthiest nation in the world" -- but fails to mention that the converse is also true: the wealthiest nation in the world is similarly, under the GPL, forced to "disgorge all its IP back to the developing nations" as well. Duh!"

3 of 625 comments (clear)

  1. Not *all* of their IP. by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1, Redundant

    The countries don't have any obligation, except to the extent that they're extending GPL code. Even then it's the developer that only needs to allow the IP that they're adding to GPL code that they then wilfully distribute to be contributed to the world at large.

    --
    Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
  2. duh! by Stephen+Samuel · · Score: 1, Redundant
    "But Schwartz said that some people he's spoken to dislike it because it precludes them from using open-source software as a foundation for proprietary projects."

    That's the primary intent of the GPL. That's like complaining that water gets you wet. The intent of the GPL is that companies like SUN can't take my code, make minor changes, and claim proprietary ownership of the result (by only distributing the object code, and deckarubg the source code a trade secret)

    Sun's CDL contains some wilfull holes that might allow SUN to later shut down others' uses of the code that they release. That's something that (AFAIK) the have declined to fix so far.

    --
    Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
  3. Re:Nothing wrong with hating the GPL... by LaCosaNostradamus · · Score: 0, Redundant

    It looks like you found the GPL offensive to your needs and philosophy. You went with an alternative. Great! So who is telling you to spend money to support the GPL? Who's actaully applying anything like force against you as regards the GPL?

    The orginal poster is so correct, that it hurts to watch people complain about it. If you don't like the terms of the GPL, then don't use the fucking code. End of story.

    --
    [You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]