Licensing

[Richard Gaskin]

Simon Smith wrote:

 > While I don't have have much experience with the LiveCode GPL, I
 > have spent some time looking at how the GPL is used with other
 > software,(especially WordPress), so not certain with how this would
 > translate to LiveCode.
 >
 > WP Developers that follow the GPL do on the whole seem to be very
 > successfull. Those that don't follow the GPL can also be equally
 > successfull, many on the other hand don't survive the public backlash.

Wordpress is very explicit about their intentions with their license:

    Part of this license outlines requirements for derivative works,
    such as plugins or themes. Derivatives of WordPress code inherit
    the GPL license. Drupal, which has the same GPL license as
    WordPress, has an excellent page on licensing as it applies to
    themes and modules (their word for plugins).
<https://wordpress.org/about/license/>

They also note that add-ons that share processing and memory space but 
do not copy code are a "gray area", and I wrote about this at length 
here a while back:
<http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-livecode/2013-December/196463.html>

Since I'm not a lawyer, and even if I were my opinion couldn't be 
relevant unless I were also the judge presiding over this (and AFAIK the 
definition of "derivative work" has never been tested in court, so no 
such judge yet exists), I've taken a more simple-minded view:

I see two approaches to using other people's stuff, which we could call 
"antagonistic" and "supportive".

An antagonistic approach seeks to use the work in whatever way one can 
personally justify for one's own advantage, even if that use clearly 
contradicts the intentions of the creator of the work.  Such an approach 
may prevail in court, or not, leaving oneself vulnerable to risk of 
being found in violation of copyright.  And in the meantime, while it 
may provide some small advantage to use others' work this way, it 
antagonizes those providing the very resources that makes one's own work 
possible, turning would-be partners into enemies.

A supportive approach sees works made available to us under GPL as a 
generous gift, and if we choose to use such a work we support those who 
make our work possible by honoring their intentions.  Given the many 
ways code can be executed by other code, it may not be practical to 
attempt to enumerate them all to attempt to reach a satisfying 
definition of "derivative work", but if we honor the intentions of those 
whose work we use we're unlikely to motivate them to take us to court. 
On the contrary, we help popularize their platform and work together as 
partners.


RunRev's view of "derivative works" seems consistent with that of 
Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, and others, so for myself, when I distribute 
things for users of LiveCode Community Edition to use, I do so under GPL 
or GPL-compatible license.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com