🚀 go-pugleaf

dd26+@andrew.cmu.edu (Douglas F. DeJulio) writes:

>miron@cs.sfu.ca (Miron Cuperman) writes:
>> What do you mean "the GPL doesn't hurt anybody"?  If you put the GPL
>> on specialized software, the authors of the software will not recover
>> their cost.  Once they see that, they will not write the software
>> in the first place.  Then the customers will not be able to get the
>> software they want.  So both the would be authors and their customers
>> are hurt.

>You're assuming a particular way of working.  Let's use the
>service-based as opposed to product-based approach.

>Let's assume company X needs a particular piece of specialized
>software.  They pay programmer Y to write a package for them.  The
>programmer writes it and releases it under the GNU copyleft -- he's
>not selling the product (the software), but the service of having
>written it.  Once company X has its software, both that company and
>the programmer are free to distribute the source if they want to
>(though neither is obligated unless they distribute the binary first).
>The company may or may not wish to continue purchasing the service of
>support from the programmer at this point.

Lets try some numbers.  Let us say that a company can develop software
at a cost of $200K and sell it to 10 customers for $40K each.  Let
us also say that they can provide support at $15K per year costing
them $10K per year per customer.  If they "hoard" the software they
will make $200K plus $50K per year.  If the put it under the GPL
they will sell one copy and all the other customers will copy that.
They will lose $160K and will make $50K per year on support.
If the lifetime of the software is 3 years or less or if the margin
of profit on support is decreased they will not be able to recover
the costs.

I have just shown a realistic situation where the GPL doesn't work.  Do
you agree that not all software should be distributed under the GPL?

"hoarding" the software is a way of distributing the cost of the initial
work on all of the customers.

>Doug DeJulio

--	
	by Miron Cuperman <miron@cs.sfu.ca>