[thelist] Open source licensing and web development
William Anderson
neuro at well.com
Wed Oct 27 13:58:35 CDT 2004
Kasimir K wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Recently I have had to think a lot of how I license the sites I make for
> my clients. This has led me to think the possibility to use an open
> source license, e.g. GPL.
>
> Do you have any experiences on this? Anything special to take into
> consideration? Is GPL good, or should I consider other options?
Depends on what you're outputting for the client. PHP is usually
intrinsically bound to the content if you're using code in-line with
content, so it may be more appropriate to GPL short passages of code and
re-use them within the main bulk of the page.
Realistically I'd say the GPL is a poor licence to consider when doing work
for a client and handing it over at the end. If you have common code you
re-use to hell and back, sure, GPL that, but definitely not anything bespoke
for a client unless they specifically *want* it GPLed.
> How about the design? What should I do with the graphics I create? Or
> CSS files?
Design? Aren't you doing that for the client? How can you licence a design
under the GPL?
Graphics? They will undoubtedly be handed over to the client as part of any
standard web design/programming deal. Licensing them under the GPL (i.e.
source files such as Gimp or Photoshop data) would be a slap in the face to
a client who had just shelled out a fee for you to give it away to others.
CSS files, grey area I suppose, but realistically they form a part of the
content handed over to the client.
> What if I used GPLed parts like bulletin boards on a site - would that
> force me to GPL the entire site?
If you GPLed the *code* behind the bulletin board, that's doable but again
may be a conflict of interest for a client who thought you were working for
them, not the bulletin-board-administrator-community-at-large.
--
_ __/| William Anderson | Brodie: The Force is strong with this one
\`O_o' neuro at well dot com | Jay: Dude, don't encourage him
=(_ _)= http://neuro.me.uk/ | -- Mallrats, (1995)
U - Thhbt! GPG 0xFA5F1100 |
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