Would You Die To Respect a Software License?

Julie188 writes "Some 2,000 licenses cover the 230,000+ projects in Black Duck's open source knowledge base. While 10 licenses comprise 93% of the software, that leaves 1,980-odd licenses for the other 3% — and some of them have really crazy conditions. The Death and Repudiation License, for instance, requires the user to be dead."

Comments

It's not news, it's Slashdot

[Luke has no name]

Slow day.

Quip on Contracts

[Improv]

The "freedom to encumber" works is like the "freedom to punch someone" ... They are both 'freedoms' that only exist at the expense of others.
                -- Gregory Maxwell, discussion on licensing

Re:Quip on Contracts

[JesseMcDonald]

That would be a good description of copyright, and thus copyright licenses, but not contracts in general. The terms of a contract are merely conditions which you require to be met before you will voluntarily give the other party some of your property, which you are in no way obligated to do. No matter what the terms may be, they impose no expense on others; one is always free to ignore the offer should one find the terms unpalatable. Licenses are similar, but the copyrights which give licenses their power are artificial social-engineering constructs which only exist at the expense of others.

Re:Quip on Contracts

[Improv]

Fair, although contract law has recognised certain topics where contracts are not free for good reason - situations of some sorts are considered generally either coercive or one-sided enough that the public good is ill-served by the absence of some (or significant regulation). Landlord-tenant law is one example, although English common law has accumulated a long list of other circumstances and remedies to specific abuses, many of which we've kept in the US.