LinuxWorld: Why a Secret Patent Deal Won’t Help Linux/Windows

“LinuxWorld: Now, when I talked to you a while
ago, you said, ‘I don’t give away my software.
I cooperate with people who cooperate with me. How does that relate
to what’s going on here, patent
licensing-wise?’

“Allison: Well, kind of peripherally really.
Essentially, this is going back to the misnomer of “free software.”
A lot of people, corporations included, hear the word free, and
they don’t think about the second meaning of
the word free. They just think, “oh, it’s
without cost.” And, of course, it isn’t. And
the cost is you have to reciprocate. You have to give exactly the
same terms to people you give it to that you get yourself.
It’s the share and share a like kind of
license. So, when somebody violates that essentially by negotiating
favorite terms for themselves, that they don’t
want to give to other people, then that I object to strenuously, up
to and including leaving a company because of it…”

Complete
Story