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Re: off topic - netscape public license
guy keren wrote:
>
> hi,
>
> i've just read the 'netscape public license', and there is at least one
> part there that really bugs me. wanted to see what others here think about
> it.
>
Quoted from http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980402S0013 :
Andreessen also sought to clarify the public
licenses
developers must sign to get the Communicator source
code.
The Netscape Public License, or NPL, lets developers
keep
more of what they develop. For instance, Andreessen
said,
Adobe could use the code to add browser
functionality to
PhotoShop without turning the software into a free
product.
The NPL also serves to protect the interests of
third parties
whose software is embedded in Communicator, as well
as
companies with whom Netscape already has licensing
deals.
On the other hand, the Mozilla Public License, or
MPL,
demands that most changes be offered back to the
development community. The MPL assures that
Communicator code will be free forever, preventing
Netscape from ever taking it back as private
property.
Netscape will change the licensing over time,
eventually
phasing out the NPL, Andreessen said. He did not
give a
timetable.
Tuvik
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Tuvik Beker
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Tel. (972) 3 5714436 Fax. (972) 3 5334349
becket@shum.huji.ac.il
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