Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

>I simply do not believe that there is a moral imperative that software vendors allow anyone and everyone to redistribute that package.

The moral imperative here is not that they need to allow it - it's that they can and should not be able to forbid it. You can't force someone to share something, but neither can you stop others from doing so.



This is an argument against copyright. I think it's a rather extreme position. Copyright is useful as a concept even if it's gotten completely out of control.

The issue with the GPL is that it takes the most critical component of copyright away -- the ability to control the distribution of your work in any meaningful degree (e.g., by charging money for access to it). You can tinker with the copyright code to say that works transformed away from direct human readability (i.e. things that require a machine to be understood, like binary compiled code) are not copyrightable, requiring everyone to release source code, etc., but the premise of freedom 2 is neither self-evident or inviolable. In the real world, people have to make money, and without some form of intellectual property law, any digitized work immediately has an infinite supply, which will always usurp any level of demand no matter how significant, making it impossible to profit off of the digitized work directly.

I don't believe there's a moral requirement to allow everyone access to the fruits of your labor for free. If the software generates value for the end-user, it seems fair to expect some recompense for the work you've done. Why do you believe it is unfair to actually make money off the product you build? Do we see people giving grills away for free and attempting to make a living off of "selling support" for that grill?




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: