I want to release my proprietary software as open source but don't want people to use it with the same purpose as I do, for example imagine you have made a video streaming app but you want to be the only one to use it for cooking videos. How should I go about this?
1 Answer
You cannot. One of the fundamental principles of open source (as defined by the Open Source Definition) is
- No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
answered Jun 11, 2022 at 13:59
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Thanks for the input, after further reading the FAQ and researching deeper we have concluded that we can simply do what big OSS projects do, release under LGPL and threaten people when they do something we don't want them to do. 😊👍 Jun 11, 2022 at 15:13
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2I would strongly advise against that. "Threatening people" could well lead to legal action. Jun 11, 2022 at 15:15
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1@EmirGeçir no FLOSS project will go an "threaten people" when they do something someone doesn't like. Matters are (only) different, when people do not oblige with the license obligations - which are independent of the purpose they use the software for. Jun 11, 2022 at 15:23