Google and MPL
By glazou on Tuesday 29 July 2008, 09:43 - Mozilla - Permalink
From time to time, Google makes a step I just do not understand. This time, Google decided to ban MPL-based codes from Google Code... I'm sure we are missing a few keys to fully understand why they did this. And I'm also sure the links between MozCo and Google are strong enough to let MozCo executives sort that out. But still, it seems to me in total contradiction with Google's "no evil" motto...
Comments
'Do no evil' doesn't mean 'Don't do anything I don't like'.
Limiting the set of available licenses is a decision made with good intentions. Wether it works out remains to be seen, but even if it doesn't, that does not make the decision evil.
There's no point in having the MPL that I can see - I'd much rather see MPL switched to the Apache license instead. This is at least GPL-compatible. Same for the EPL.
The ideal license situation would be:
PERMISSIVE:
- one permissive license without patents (e.g. BSD or MIT)
- one permissive license with patents (e.g. Apache)
INCREASINGLY STRONGER COPYLEFT:
- LGPL
- GPL
- AGPL
Importantly, licenses that can all work together (BSD/MIT/Apache/others can combine with the majority GPL, MPL/CDDL/EPL/CPL/etc can't really combine with anything).
Actually, my preferred solution would have been a "PGPL" (permissive GPL) that was like LGPL, a GPL with permissions.
License proliferation is a Bad Thing (TM).
[I don't work for Google]
Considering Places/awesomebar as a shot across Google's bows which effectively takes second and subsequent searches away from them I'm not sure how much sway those Mozilla execs might have. Not that I'm suggesting that as a reason for Google Code dropping MPL, it just looks like over-enthusiastic license-pruning to me, but this relationship has passed its peak.
Maybe people will actually believe Mozilla now when they say that having a business relationship with Google doesn't make them a puppet to Google's every whim.
Google has strong opinions on open source licenses (dual licensing seems like a big no-no for instance) and that seems to show in the Summer of Code selections.