Comment by Sandman | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Sandman | Hacker News Reader

Oh my, oh my, oh my...

Developers of applications using Bionic would only be able to charge (via the Android Market) those customers who don't know what rights they have under the GPL. All others would find ways to download and install those apps on GPL terms, i.e., free of charge.

Mr. Mueller doesn't seem to understand that if something is released under GPL that does not make it automatically free of charge. Just because most GPL software is free of charge, that does not mean that you can't charge for your software if you release it as GPL.

Another common misconception is that if your code is under GPL, you have to give the source code to just about anybody who wants to see it for free. No. Wrong. Only people who have the license for your software can get the source code, they have this right because it is granted to them by the GPL. And if you want to, you can certainly charge for use of this license.

So there is nothing stopping you from releasing your software as GPL, charging for it, and giving the source code to those interested parties that payed for the license to use your software.

@Sandman, the "oh my, oh my, oh my" part is actually justified as a reaction to some of what you say.

Of course you can try to charge for GPL'd software. But since the GPL requires you to make it available free of charge, there would be arbitrage: people would find where to get it for free, and why would they pay then?

As I understand it, if you write a piece of software, you're the one holding the copyright. Therefore you decide under which license you will allow people to use your software and whether you want to charge for this use or not (unless the license itself specifically states that you must or must not charge for the use of the software, in which case you must conform to the rules of the license). If you decide that you are going to charge for the use of your software and somebody is using it without paying for it, they are in violation of the license. If you release your software under GPL and decide to charge for it then yes, you have to give the source for free, but only to those people that payed for the license to use the software in the first place.

That is correct. AFAIK, you could sell GPL'd software for money.

However, if I buy it, then you have to provide me with the source code (upon my request). The source has to be licensed under a licence compatible with the GPL, which means that I have the right to modify the code and distribute under a compatible licence. Therefore, I can resell your software, or give it away for free.

The GPL does not require you to make your software available free of charge. It merely states that if someone purchases software from you, that you must also provide the source code upon request.

But it requires that those who receive licenses from you (or source) be able to pass them to others, free or charge or not.

So what?

It assumes that whomever wants to get your $3 program can:

* Know exactly what the rules are under the GPL (which as we have just seen, even smart software developers can't).

* Knows somebody who already have access to the software so he can get the source code.

* Trust the person whom he gets the software from.

* Knows how to compiler source code (or his friend has to), which means there has to be at least one programmer at some point. Programmers (especially with mobile programming experience) are not cheap.

* Is able to install the software, which again requires above average computer skills (many people don't know how to activate the menu)

Edit: formatting

* You will most likely be stuck with an out-of-date version, since Android programs are updated fairly often

So unless you sell something where the majority are computer programmers, or are selling for a very high price, you properly wouldn't be able to get it for free.

Edit:formatting.

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