Allowing commercial usage

[mevdschee]

Can you be more explicit about commercial usage?

On https://smartcities.publiccode.net/ you write:

private agencies can create new business models by charging fees to help develop, install, configure and maintain running versions of Public Software

While the OSI requirement does not reflect this.

[bvhme]

Thanks for the feedback @mevdschee,

Could you elaborate. Aren't all of those things possible with OSI approved licenses?

[mevdschee]

Well, it is debatable whether or not a company can built up intellectual property around the Public Software (in the form of modifications, add-ons and/or tools). Also patent-based intellectual property is in many licenses impossible. So various business models are not allowed by (certain) OSI licenses. It think it is more clear and fair to mention this.

[mevdschee]

Clearer proposal:

private agencies are not supposed to charge fees for the intellectual property or usage of related patents, but they should instead charge fees for (the effort of) developing, installing, configuring and maintaining the software. We try to enforce this intention by requiring the use of OSI approved licenses.

How about that?

EDIT: changed it to improve the clarity of the intention.

[attogram]

Suggestion: put the should's first, and should not's second:

Private agencies should charge fees for work done developing, installing, configuring and maintaining the software. They should not charge fees for the intellectual property or usage of related patents. We try to enforce this intention by requiring the use of OSI approved licenses.

[bvhme]

Yeah, this sounds very good to me! We'll try to get this into the next version.

[ElenaFdR]

Hey everyone, where do you think this needs to be reflected?
Some options:

• Introduction (under 'Economics of public code')
• Publish with an open licence (split between 'requirements', 'why this is important' and 'what this does not do')

Anywhere else?

[Ainali]

Hey everyone, where do you think this needs to be reflected?

Shouldn't this issue be transferred to the repo publiccodenet/smart-cities-public-code since the issue is referring to text on https://smartcities.publiccode.net/ ?