> how will that not do just the opposite when companies can take open source code and lock it down? They already do that, either legally or illegally, see here

> how will that not do just the opposite when companies can take open source code and lock it down? They already do that, either legally or illegally, see here for some examples https://trac.ffmpeg.org/query?status=!closed&type=license+violation https://trac.ffmpeg.org/query?status=!closed&type=license+vi.... Plus most FOSS software is being developed by volunteers for free without the resources to fight back. > there will also not be an altruistic motive for people to give back to the community through open source knowing that a for profit company can build on top of the work they did and not give back to the community. Most FOSS software is actually not under a copyleft license, see https://blog.github.com/2015-03-09-open-source-license-usage-on-github-com/ https://blog.github.com/2015-03-09-open-source-license-usage.... > not only will their not be a financial motive for people to create works A lot of software is actually commissioned either for private use or to distribute as an app for some business of some sort, which would not be affected by this. Moreover if as you say due to not being a financial motive for people to create non-FOSS software, the chances that someone takes some FOSS software and closes it down will be much lower. Nevertheless, though unlikely, even if copyright stopped existing it does not mean that there could not be a replacement that only protects FOSS projects.