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cc-licenses - Re: No-profit or no-sales option on commercial axis?

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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: "Branko Collin" <collin AT xs4all.nl>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: No-profit or no-sales option on commercial axis?
  • Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 15:15:37 +0100

On 18 Feb 2005, at 12:46, mp wrote:
> On Wed, 2005-02-16 at 22:47, Jesse Roberge wrote:

> > GPL prohibits sales / direct profit making (members-only, etc.)
>
> does it? how?

I read this to mean that effectively, making profits purely with the
sale of GPL software is doomed, since anyone can give the work away
under the GPL. The GPL prevents profit making, rather than forbids
it. In order to make money with GPLed works, you need to value-add,
and only the addition of that value helps you maintain a price higher
than zero.

To give an example, loads of folks are selling copies of
OpenOffice.org or the GIMP at eBay; they rename the software, then
sell it as an MS Office killer or a Photoshop killer.

The added value in this case is that people need not look further for
their office or photo editing software, but can buy it directly.
Granted, that's a meagre added value, but it dictates the price these
people can set. If the price were higher, shoppers would look
further. If people knew they could get the same software for free,
they would (probably) download for free.

Sometimes the value-add is perceived more than anything else. There's
a story of a Scottsman who tried to give away CDs with FOSS to local
public libraries, but at first didn't get anywhere, because he wasn't
a trusted source.
(<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/12/18/openoffice_cds_live_for_lend
ing/>)

So although the GPL does not forbid profit making (profit can be a
great incentive to do something, even distributing works), it does
more or less prevent it.

--
branko collin
collin AT xs4all.nl




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