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Question regarding license choice for my program
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2023
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Thanks. To be honest, I couldn't care less if people use parts of my code in commercial programs.
The only thing I'm trying to prevent is someone taking the entire project, changing some strings and icons and releasing a paid Android version based on my work. Especially as I will be releasing mobile versions myself after the desktop versions for free.
You shouldn't worry about that. It's going to happen anyway. Probably 5 minutes after you publish the source code. Open means open.
The most lazy example I saw of this recently is where they took advantage that InnerTune was not on Play Store and published a verbatim copy with the same app id and everything, just the name changed to Max Music Player. It's free too so it wouldn't break a no commercial license.
So if it's a mobile application you need to come to terms with this now, before you publish.
Hi, the user https://lemmy.comfysnug.space/u/Spectacle8011 posted an answer that you probably will not see:
Original text by spectacle8011:
Zion isn't going to see my comment because I'm from an instance that lemmy.world blocks. If somebody thinks my comment might be useful to Zion, please pass it on in my stead by reposting it.
If you released your program under an open source license, they wouldn't even need to change anything. They could simply republish your program unmodified for a price. Open source is fundamentally incompatible with restricting commercial use because it means surrendering your monopoly over commercial exploitation.
One way you could restrict this is by trademarking the name you publish your program under. This way, no one will be able to publish a version of your program with the same name, as they would be violating your trademark. The good thing about this is that trademarks have nothing to do with copyright and so are fully compatible with open source licenses. The bad news is that someone could always republish your program under a different name. If you're primarily concerned about users confusing another program with yours, though, trademarks are a great option. You should register a trademark for the name anyway...before someone else does.
I don't have a particular license to recommend that prevents commercial redistribution, but you appear to be looking for a "source-available" license. You might need something custom...every program I've heard of that is source-available has their own custom license (Futo Temporary License, the TrueCrypt license, Microsoft Shared Source Initiative, etc.) The closest thing I could find was the Commons Clause. I know very little about it, though.