[plug] Software License Evaluation

[Bret Busby]

On Tue, 1 Jun 2004, Senectus - wrote:

> Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2004 03:03:10 +0000
> From: Senectus - <senectuskal at hotmail.com>
> Reply-To: plug at plug.linux.org.au
> To: plug at plug.linux.org.au
> Subject: Re: [plug] Software License Evaluation
> 
> >you do realize nothing in the GPL says you cant sell your software. It
> >simple states that when supplying it to someone you have to make the
> >source code available to them if they want it.
> >
> >Adam
> 
> Yeah this is true.. Also there is the "support" risk..
> ie, if you sell the product you'll be expected to give support for it, will 
> the money you make from selling it cover for your time to support it?

When you say "give support for it", do you mean give free support for 
it, or, is support required to be given, that can be charged?

One of the apsects of having to provide the source code, is that 
another person can come along and provide paid support for the 
software, so, if a third party can provide paid support for the 
software, can the original developer of the software that is sold, also 
not charge for support for the software (providing it does not go into 
the grey area of fixing bugs, for which some developers charge, and, for 
which other developers fix, free of charge, on the basis that they erred 
in having the bugs, and, feel morally if not legally, obliged, to fix 
for free)?

> There is also the question of responsibility.. If you sell it to do one 
> thing.. and for some reason it doesn't do it or worse corrupts/deletes data 
> thereby costing the purchaser bulk money, can you afford to fight it in 
> court or pay insurance...?
> 

There are two aspects to that - the first goes to what I said above, 
about fixing bugs some charge for fixing their own bugs, others do not 
charge for fixing their own bugs, believeing that they have a moral, if 
not legal, responsibility for fixing their own bugs, free of charge, 
and, the other aspect, about the corruption/deletion of data, goes to 
the customer's responsibility to back up their data.

All of this should be specified in the contract to supply the software, 
should it not?

This is an area, as with the part above, that I think, requires 
qualified comment from someone such as Jeremy Malcolm, if he does not 
mind providing the advice free of charge, in response to a query on this 
list.

Perhaps, it may be time, for another seminar by Jeremy (if he wants to 
do it again), about the different licences, and, Intellectual Property. 
I seem to remember him previously giving such a seminar at West Perth, 
some years ago.

Such a seminar being presented again, may help clarify such issues.

-- 
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
 you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
  Chapter 28 of 
  "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
  A Trilogy In Four Parts",
  written by Douglas Adams, 
  published by Pan Books, 1992 
....................................................