[CS-FSLUG] Proprietary Software: Capitalism or Greed?

[doc]

> Ben Thorp, on the L4C list, suggested that license law and copyright
> law are essentially two different animals.  A non-free license sits on
> top of copyright, as does the GPL, and uses contractual terms that
> restrict users beyond what copyright allows the author to do.
> 
> I really think that, for proponents of non-free software to try to
> claim that a non-free license is a Capitalistic venture is a claim
> that must be proven.  Using a license to add restrictions beyond what
> Copyright allows is not inherently Capitalistic, any more than using
> the GPL to void these restrictions is inherently Communist.  The claim
> that non-free licenses is about Capitalism is, in fact, a sham.
> 
> The reason I say this is because software does not have to be
> distributed using a non-free license in order to make money or be
> profitable.  It can be, but does not have to be.  People can argue
> that they choose proprietary (non-free) terms because they are
> Capitalists.  However, it is not necessary to choose such terms to be
> a Capitalist.  A non-free license is, generally, a way to control
> users in ways that Copyright does not allow and a way to make more
> money than might be made under normal copyright terms.  Developing
> and/or using proprietary software does not make one a Capitalist.
> Blessings, Don

I see where you are going and again it may require
a careful statement of terms and usage at the start
to avoid confusion.

Here are the three software financial models -- they are
apart from licensing issues because any or all of these may
contain no licensing/use restrictions or some licensing/
use restrictions (e.g. the author of #3 may require her/his
name be kept attached to the app, no sales of her/his code,
her/his code kept intact, etc.).

1. Software sold for profit.

2. Software sold to cover expenses only.

3. Software donated to the public domain with no expectation
of financial compensation.

#1 is within the capitalist model.

#2 may be used by a capitalist as a marketing tool for a
more advanced and costly version, or by a non-profit to
equip those served without incurring a loss to the
organization, and by others for various reasons.

#3 may also be used by a capitalist as a marketing tool for
a more advanced and cost-required version, or by others for
various reasons.

Does that help?

-- 
Respectfully ... dmc

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