Dear Genode community,
today, I'd like to present an idea that developed over the past three years during discussions with various contributors and users about the prospect of a Genode-based business ecosystem.
As you certainly know, Genode Labs pursues a dual-licensing business model, which allows us to fund the development of Genode as an independent team. Our licensing business is enabled by the combination of the AGPLv3 as a strong copyleft license with the library-like nature of Genode. Until today, this model is limited to our company. To foster a sustainable ecosystem around Genode, we wish to enable others to pursue a similar business model while maintaining the spirit of open collaboration and free software.
We eventually crafted a new license called "Genode Component Public License" (Genode CPL) specifically for components developed by 3rd parties, outside of Genode Labs. Please find the rationale, license text, and FAQ under the following link (which is not officially reachable from the website yet):
https://genode.org/documentation/articles/component_public_license
Before I go forward with publicly announcing the article at genode.org, I would very much appreciate your feedback, in particular:
* How does the rationale and approach given in the description resonate with you?
* Do you see any potential for controversies or uncertainties?
* If you are in the business of producing proprietary software, would the Genode CPL create an incentive to open up your products without putting your business at risk?
I'm very much aware that licensing is a delicate topic. To avoid hot-heated controversies and mis-interpretation, I encourage everyone to carefully read the "Questions and Answers" Section of the article before commenting.
I'm looking forward to your feedback!
Best regards Norman
Hello,
to follow up on my previous posting, the article has become officially available on the genode.org website now:
https://genode.org/news/dual-licensing-of-3rd-party-genode-components
Cheers Norman
On 17.09.18 15:05, Norman Feske wrote:
Dear Genode community,
today, I'd like to present an idea that developed over the past three years during discussions with various contributors and users about the prospect of a Genode-based business ecosystem.
As you certainly know, Genode Labs pursues a dual-licensing business model, which allows us to fund the development of Genode as an independent team. Our licensing business is enabled by the combination of the AGPLv3 as a strong copyleft license with the library-like nature of Genode. Until today, this model is limited to our company. To foster a sustainable ecosystem around Genode, we wish to enable others to pursue a similar business model while maintaining the spirit of open collaboration and free software.
We eventually crafted a new license called "Genode Component Public License" (Genode CPL) specifically for components developed by 3rd parties, outside of Genode Labs. Please find the rationale, license text, and FAQ under the following link (which is not officially reachable from the website yet):
https://genode.org/documentation/articles/component_public_license
Before I go forward with publicly announcing the article at genode.org, I would very much appreciate your feedback, in particular:
How does the rationale and approach given in the description resonate with you?
Do you see any potential for controversies or uncertainties?
If you are in the business of producing proprietary software, would the Genode CPL create an incentive to open up your products without putting your business at risk?
I'm very much aware that licensing is a delicate topic. To avoid hot-heated controversies and mis-interpretation, I encourage everyone to carefully read the "Questions and Answers" Section of the article before commenting.
I'm looking forward to your feedback!
Best regards Norman
-
Norman Feske