iPhone restricts users, GPLv3 frees them

[Patrick Coskren]

On Jul 1, 2007, at 8:56 PM, LuKreme wrote:

> And keep in mind that what we think of as OSS is quite cleraly  
> GPL.  The BSD license is, and certainly was, a license in which it  
> was very easy to take code, wrap your own 'brand' around it, not  
> release the code you modified, and sell it for extortionary  
> prices.  Which is what was happening.

This argument always strikes me as a little paranoid, because it  
couldn't possibly work that way in any sort of real market.  Let's  
say I write this really cool program to graph out correlations  
between the stock market and women's fashions.  I release it with a  
BSD license.  Now Banana Republic comes along, adds a nifty toolbar,  
and sells it for $100 a pop.  I see two possible cases:

1) The nifty toolbar isn't worth $100 bucks, so nobody buys the  
Banana Republic version, they just download mine.

2) The nifty toolbar *is* worth $100 bucks, so everybody buys the  
Banana Republic version.  Well, fine.  If the toolbar was worth that  
much, then that's what people are paying for.  If I don't like it, I  
guess I'd better add my own toolbar, and then we revert to case 1.

3) The nifty toolbar isn't worth $100 bucks, but buying it at Banana  
Republic is so much more convenient than downloading it that the  
convenience is worth $100 to people.  Well, fine.  Banana Republic  
spends a lot of time and money on maintaining their distribution  
channel, so that's what they're charging for.

In none of these events does my code cease to be available for free,  
and because of that, any money other people are making is going to be  
for the improvements they make, either in the product or in the  
distribution.  It's not easy, after all, to compete with my free  
product if they're not doing *something* to add value.  Therefore,  
they're not stealing anything from me, they're providing a real  
service.  Now, my code is making it easier for other people to make  
money, but that's fine, I've released it free.  Other people are free  
to do whatever they want.  Use it as a hobby.  Use it to make money  
by predicting the stock market by reading Vogue.  Use it to make  
money by wrapping it with a toolbar that people want to pay money  
for.  Whatever; I don't care; I've released the software for free,  
and people are free to do whatever they want.

-Patrick