Alexander Terekhov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: R> David Kastrup wrote: >> >> Alexander Terekhov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> >> > David Kastrup wrote: >> > [...] >> >> The GPL creates its own software pool >> > >> > of intellectual property price fixed below the cost of its creation. >> >> Well, that is what is called civilization and culture. Not having to >> reinvent the wheel, but profiting from the knowledge created by >> others. > > Man oh man. Profit = buyer's cost to obtain - seller's cost to create. > > Okay?
Ok. > Now we take the case with distribution of new (we are now going to > create) derivative work of something under the GPL: > > buyer's cost to obtain = 0 (per GPL "no charge" provision) Wrong. GPL clause 1: You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee. And that's what makes free software distributors turn a profit. Now what kind of premium will a customer accept for buying from an active author himself instead of some downstream recipient? That is the balance point. How much can active development help to maintain at least a temporal margin before competitors? That's another one. Neither are set at $0. And that's because the _licensing_ does not cost extra, but the software itself may. > seller's cost to create = programmer's salary, energy, etc. > > So where is a profit, dak? seller's cost to obtain GPLed work on which he bases his own: 0, or competitively low (like his own selling price). And that's what turns the scales. Yes, you have to have a good product to make the turns tip in your favor. Or a product that develops its full potential by qualified service and/or customization and/or support. For which you are again a natural first source. That does not mean artificially crippling a product: customization of complex systems is pretty much by necessity a complex process, and an experienced person can save a lot of work hours. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss