HACKER Q&A
📣 arboles

Can a license make large corporations give back?


I've no expectations for this post to be well-received because it looks down on open-source for being too "pure". Though unless we evolve beyond no-strings-attached open-source, the ecosystem will remain as broken as it is. Why don't our overworked, underpaid open-source developers license their software with something to the effect of "If you make more than $1,000,000, pay me."? JSON designer ("the" JSON) Douglas Crockford had IBM ask for permission to use JSLint, because Douglas had added the note/clause/term "The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil."[1]

We don't know if GPL works in court. It roughly seems like whatever you write in a license is an effective deterrent though. So your repository could take an existing permissive license like MIT, and add a clause like I mentioned. Set a procedure for your terms for others to use your open-source project commercially. An example of this is the Big Time Public License.[2]

[1] https://wonko.com/post/jsmin-isnt-welcome-on-google-code/

[2] https://bigtimelicense.com/versions/2.0.2#big-business


  👤 bigyabai Accepted Answer ✓
> We don't know if GPL works in court.

If lacking precedent is your main concern, there are no software licenses that are likely to fill your criterion.