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Building a $36.5 million business with open source software

14 points by ahmicro 15y ago

devy 15y ago
This was submitted by the author Patrick A in late August. Why the re-submission?
- ahmicro 15y ago
  Sorry about that, did not see it.
- delano 15y ago
  It's helpful to include the previous thread. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2917158 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2917158
beambot 15y ago
Has using GPL-licensed code prevented anyone else from being acquired? That really struck me...
- acangiano 15y ago
  Plenty of companies, whether they know it or not. Large companies like IBM are very cautious when it comes to code ownership and contamination. In some companies, employees have an easier time going through their divorce than getting an approval by an open source committee to use GPL software.
  - bradfa 15y ago
    I'd expect IBM, of all "big companies," to be one of the least concerned about an acquisition using GPL software. They do so much work with GPL software, I'm sure they have very well defined internal policies on making sure they're in compliance. IBM is number 7 by measure of changesets (http://lwn.net/Articles/460597/ http://lwn.net/Articles/460597/) in the 3.1 Linux kernel. Heck, my company (approx 150k employees) isn't what I'd consider a good contributor to open source software but even we have internal policies defining how we need to comply with GPL and other open source licenses. There's lawyers internally that specifically work with open source compliance. As long as you have your act together and can show that you're compliant with all licenses (open or closed), I can't see why it would be a major barrier to a legit buyout offer.
  - wlievens 15y ago
    A can attest that at my first employer (Britain's semiconductor flagship - well respected inside and outside open source communities), getting approval for open source libraries was a true pain. It took many months, with lawyers having to go over every file, and approval was never certain.
mgamma500 15y ago
Excellent info from your experience and great resources too.

14 points by ahmicro 15y ago

devy 15y ago

This was submitted by the author Patrick A in late August. Why the re-submission?

ahmicro 15y ago
Sorry about that, did not see it.
delano 15y ago
It's helpful to include the previous thread. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2917158 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2917158

beambot 15y ago

Has using GPL-licensed code prevented anyone else from being acquired? That really struck me...

acangiano 15y ago
Plenty of companies, whether they know it or not. Large companies like IBM are very cautious when it comes to code ownership and contamination. In some companies, employees have an easier time going through their divorce than getting an approval by an open source committee to use GPL software.
- bradfa 15y ago
  I'd expect IBM, of all "big companies," to be one of the least concerned about an acquisition using GPL software. They do so much work with GPL software, I'm sure they have very well defined internal policies on making sure they're in compliance. IBM is number 7 by measure of changesets (http://lwn.net/Articles/460597/ http://lwn.net/Articles/460597/) in the 3.1 Linux kernel. Heck, my company (approx 150k employees) isn't what I'd consider a good contributor to open source software but even we have internal policies defining how we need to comply with GPL and other open source licenses. There's lawyers internally that specifically work with open source compliance. As long as you have your act together and can show that you're compliant with all licenses (open or closed), I can't see why it would be a major barrier to a legit buyout offer.
- wlievens 15y ago
  A can attest that at my first employer (Britain's semiconductor flagship - well respected inside and outside open source communities), getting approval for open source libraries was a true pain. It took many months, with lawyers having to go over every file, and approval was never certain.

mgamma500 15y ago

Excellent info from your experience and great resources too.