Re: [leganii@surfree.com: Re: FWD: C-Kermit & potato]
Isn't the Artistic License (I think it's Artistic) designed to take care of
this whole problem? You can't call Perl Perl if it's not the official version -
you have to call it something else.
I could be completely wrong here, but ISTR that that was the case.
On Fri, 14 Jan 2000, Nick Moffitt wrote:
> begin Frank da Cruz quotation:
> > Scenario: User calls with a problem, we have a long and frustrating
> > dialog trying to ascertain exactly what software they have and its
> > lineage. Eventually we discover it is a forked version of which we
> > have no knowledge. We tell them we can't help. They hate us and we
> > hate ourselves for not being able help them. Meanwhile, this has
> > taken up the time of at least two real persons, cost us goodwill,
> > damaged our reputation, and frustrated and angered the end user.
>
> Better scenario: you put something in the license forbidding
> usage of the name "kermit" for any derived works. The user calls you,
> and you get to say "Oh, we don't support Fozzy, only Kermit." The
> user understands completely.
>
> > Worse scenario: Same as above, but this time there is no way to even
> > tell it is a forked version, since whoever changed it didn't bother
> > to change the identification info. Why should they? They have the
> > liberty not to.
>
> Trademarks are your friends.
>
> > Another bad scenario: Malicious hacker changes the software to cause
> > damage or offense and redistributes it all over the world. It still
> > has the Columbia University name on it. Columbia University is sued
> > and/or its reputation suffers; I lose my job for releasing software
> > with a license that allows this to happen.
>
> Use a license that prevents the use of CU's name in a forked
> version.
>
> All your problems are specifically related to reputation. So
> don't license out your reputation, but rather just the code. Or am I
> missing something?
>
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