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> Open Source and permissive licenses like MIT and Apache bring freedom but don’t protect the business. Companies can try to benefit from it in a predatory way

> Open Source and permissive licenses like MIT and Apache bring freedom but don’t protect the business. Companies can try to benefit from it in a predatory way [...] I get that this post is about choosing a certain non-Free license, but it seems very weird to me to describe businesses leveraging the permissive terms of permissive licenses as "predatory" behavior. Permissive licenses were created in response to hereditary licenses like the GPL specifically to allow the kind of behavior that the author is referring to as "predatory". Blaming anyone but yourself for choosing to license your code with a license designed to enable behavior you don't like seems quite silly. > Other organizations seek protection by adopting AGPLv3, which many companies have policies against, and selling dual licenses and enterprise features. Those businesses are often referred to as Open Core. Open core is related to, but not the same as the dual licensing pattern they are describing. Open core is basically the same as dual licensing, but the different licenses actually apply to different sets of software under the Open core model.

nickpsecurity 2y ago
Some people release software under a permissive license, people use it according to the terms of that license, and they get mad about it. It’s unreal. If they want specific behaviors, they should put them in the license or in a contract. Businesses will probably not use it over permissive software, though.
- nope1000 2y ago
  > If they want specific behaviours, they should put them in the license But that's exactly the point of the article, isn't it?
- evanjrowley 2y ago
  >people use it according to the terms of that license, and they get mad about it Whenever permissively licensed software is used, is it acceptable to have an expectation that one should be able to use it against the business that originally created it?
  - ensignavenger 2y ago
    Yes, that is part of what open source software is.
  - Zambyte 2y ago
    If by "use it against the business" you mean "compete with in a proprietary fashion", yes absolutely. As I said in my parent comment, that is the reason permissive licenses exist in the first place. There is no reason to choose a permissive license unless this is the behavior that you desire. If that is not the behavior that you want, you should stop choosing permissive licenses and instead choose a license that aligns with your desires. If by "use it against the business" you mean in the literal sense, such as using it to access the businesses systems without authorization, using it to harass company employees, etc. then no, it doesn't really matter if they made the software or not.

nickpsecurity 2y ago

Some people release software under a permissive license, people use it according to the terms of that license, and they get mad about it. It’s unreal. If they want specific behaviors, they should put them in the license or in a contract. Businesses will probably not use it over permissive software, though.

nope1000 2y ago
> If they want specific behaviours, they should put them in the license But that's exactly the point of the article, isn't it?
evanjrowley 2y ago
>people use it according to the terms of that license, and they get mad about it Whenever permissively licensed software is used, is it acceptable to have an expectation that one should be able to use it against the business that originally created it?
- ensignavenger 2y ago
  Yes, that is part of what open source software is.
- Zambyte 2y ago
  If by "use it against the business" you mean "compete with in a proprietary fashion", yes absolutely. As I said in my parent comment, that is the reason permissive licenses exist in the first place. There is no reason to choose a permissive license unless this is the behavior that you desire. If that is not the behavior that you want, you should stop choosing permissive licenses and instead choose a license that aligns with your desires. If by "use it against the business" you mean in the literal sense, such as using it to access the businesses systems without authorization, using it to harass company employees, etc. then no, it doesn't really matter if they made the software or not.