[Linux-aus] Re: [Osia-discuss] Chosing an Open Source licence

[Brendan Scott <lists@opensourcelaw.biz>]

Avi Miller wrote:
> Brendan Scott wrote:
>
> > This is my experience:
>
>
> Yeesh. So how should someone chose a licence? Is there any Open Source 
> (OSI approved, yadda, yadda) licence that makes legal sense in 
> Australia? Without spending lots and lots on money paying for Brendan's 
> time, how does any commercial entity decide which licence makes the most 

My advice would be that spending lots and lots of money paying for Brendan's time would be a very advantageous course to follow. 


> sense for their business needs?
>
> Perhaps this is something OSIA could look into: Creating a "How To 
> Choose an Open Source Licence in Australia" document.

I should temper that earlier post with some further comments:  


I do not advocate spending money on acquiring legal advice unless it is going to provide some benefit.


Whether any of those, somewhat depressing, comments is relevant to you is largely determined by the consequences of getting it wrong.  If you have a product which is constantly evolving, it may not be all that much of an issue if one version "escapes into the wild" as later versions can be licensed under a better licence. 


This is all a question of cost and benefit.  Everyone who is engaged in a licensing quandry needs to determine how much it is worth to them to get the right answer, or, alternatively, how much a wrong answer will cost them.  They can take this into account in determining how much to spend on legal advice. 


Brendan