Fwd: Re: X11 non open-source? (a solution?)

[arma@seul.org]

(Oops, this bounced. Problem fixed, message forwarded.)

------- Forwarded Message

From: "Orn E. Hansen" <oe.hanseno@isholf.is>
To: Erik Walthinsen <omega@omegacs.net>
Subject: Re: X11 non open-source?  (a solution?)
Cc: seul-leaders@seul.org, Micah Yoder <lyoder@cyberis.net>,
        George Bonser <grep@oriole.sbay.org>

^ann 07-Apr-98 skrifar Erik Walthinsen:
>> The way I read the license, if you sell a software package that includes X
>> or requires X, you need to buy a license from Open Group.  In other words,
>> if I wanted to sell Linux and it had X11R6.4 on it, I would have to buy
>> the license even though I am not, per se, selling X.
> Now this starts to suck.
> 
  I don't think it sucks... those guys have worked hard to create the code,
and work harder still to maintain it.  It doesn't make much sense to allow
people to make money (wether on a small or large scale) on somebody elses
code, without paying that someone a fee in return.

> 
> Does that make sense?  Should it be proposed somewhere?  Are there holes in 
> it that would have to be plugged?  Would XFree86.org and OpenGroup go for 
> it?  Is public pressure and bad press enough to force it?
> 
  Yes, it makes perfect sense... but I doubt it would work.  There isn't much
difference between "giving" the source to XFree86 and allow them to freely
distribute it to the commercial vendors, or doing it on your own.

  Why not propose a deal, with the Open Group.  A special Linux development
one.  Distributions, like Debian and others get to pay only partial fee
due to their "small" size, and the fact that they are a "growing" distributions
which would get hurt (possibly permanently) if forced to pay full fee.  They
would in turn, increase the fee as their buisness would increase.

  I see no reason why such a deal could not take place, and I would suspect
that it could be made with Trolltech as well.  If done, it would solve the
"licensing" and it would allow the distributions to make user interfaces,
on strongly supported grounds.

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orn Einar Hansen                         oe.hansen@oehansen.pp.se
                                          oehansen@daimi.aau.dk
                                        voice+fax; +46 035 217194

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