From a conversation over email…
> Public domain you need to sue the public, since it is owned > by the public! :-) I only want PD code so that commercial > operations can understand that it is available for use in a > commercial application, the same as if the code was 200 > years old.
Here in the US, absurdly, it’s not quite that simple. There are two problems:
- It’s illegal to give away dangerous things. If the prosecuting attorney can prove that you knowingly placed flawed software in the public domain, he can sue you and win. However, if the receiving party must accept a license to use your code, then the license can legally ensure that the author is not liable.
- Because PD software falls under gift law, rather than license/contract law, the author may retract the gift at any time. There are exceptions, but it gets somewhat complex. US companies are rather hesitant to adopt PD code.
Here’s an article that explains it pretty well: http://www.rosenlaw.com/html/GL15a.pdf
The MIT license is short and agreeable. It makes it very clear that the software may be used for any purpose, and that the author is not liable for any damages. http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
Anyhow, that’s my thinking. I want companies to use my code for any purpose. It appears that the MIT license does a better job of making that clear than public domain! Well, in the lawsuit-happy US anyway.
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