[OT] New pricing (GPL issues)

[Kay C Lan]

Thanks Kevin for taking the time from what must be an extremely busy
schedule to eleborate on this complex subject.

Great to see the team want to make LC Community available to eveyone via
EVERY means possible.

Good luck!


On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:29 PM, Kevin Miller <kevin at runrev.com> wrote:

> We are looking at providing a very simple OSS license specifically for
> free, non-profit, not ad supported, non-promotional open source apps in
> the Mac/iOS app store. We'll probably go down the route of charging a $25
> administration fee to supply an open license that lets you do this for
> apps you specifically name. We're still working through the legal
> implications of this though as we have to be careful it doesn't undermine
> the whole model by providing our platform binaries under a license without
> the enforced freedoms in GPL that, while incompatible with the App store,
> are also make our model work in all other contexts. More on this soon.
>
> In terms of having someone with the commercial platform build an app for
> you, we've prohibited that in our updated commercial EULA. Otherwise any
> one of you could set up shop and build apps for anyone which would
> circumvent the GPL. We would only need to sell a single license. Please
> don't do this or encourage others to do it! Many thanks.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Kevin
>
> Kevin Miller ~ kevin at runrev.com ~ http://www.runrev.com/
> LiveCode: Everyone can code
>
>
>
>
> On 08/04/2013 21:07, "Mark Wilcox" <m_p_wilcox at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >OK, second post in a row - really sorry for forgetting to delete the
> >whole digest from the end of the last one before I hit send.  Promise not
> >to do it again. :)
> >
> >Apple don't have an explicit policy against the GPL or any other open
> >source license as far as I'm aware.  I am not an IP lawyer but I did work
> >for an open source software foundation for a couple of years, so I've
> >spent quite a while reading/thinking about these issues.
> >
> >If someone complains you're violating their copyright (or breaking the
> >terms of their copyright license) to Apple, your app is likely to get
> >taken down, whether you're using open source or not.  This is what has
> >happened to apps using GPL code that have been taken down so far.
> >
> >If you build an app against the open source version of LiveCode and
> >release the source under a GPL compatible license (doesn't have to be GPL
> >and indeed probably better to go with something more permissive if you
> >intend it to be free and open for everyone) then the only issue you
> >should face with submitting to the app store is if RunRev complain to
> >Apple, since they are the copyright holder and thus the only ones with a
> >valid complaint (FSF can whinge all they like about the platform being
> >incompatible with their license, their copyright has not been infringed).
> > FWIW the GPLv2 is being blatantly disregarded ALL the time in (almost?)
> >all Android devices and many other embedded Linux platforms.  The Linux
> >kernel developers just prefer that their work is used and people don't
> >make commercial forks rather than making all the hardware vendors out
> >there follow the letter of the GPL (which they aren't prepared to do in
> >most cases).
> >
> >If RunRev are OK with any kind of non-comercial usage (they should be,
> >it'd save them the hassle of coming up with a solution for free
> >educational software and student projects) then they should add a clause
> >to this effect to their version of the GPL, just so everyone, including
> >potential contributors to LiveCode, is clear.  If they're not then as
> >long as you use a permissive GPL compatible license for your open source
> >project then anyone with a commercial license can build and submit it for
> >you - I expect there's be volunteers for serious projects trying to
> >produce quality free/open software.
> >
> >There's really no way to comply fully with the GPL and release viable
> >commercial software anyway.  If you release the full source code to your
> >app under a GPL compatible license and try to sell it there is nothing to
> >stop someone else building it and selling a version for less or giving it
> >away for free (this is why the GPL's free as in speech must almost always
> >mean free as in beer too in an age of ubiquitous internet access for
> >distribution).
> >
> >Hope that helps rather than confuses.  Happy to answer other questions in
> >this area to the best of my ability.
> >
> >Mark
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