linux-kernel - Re: GPL vs non-GPL device drivers

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Date:	Thu, 15 Feb 2007 17:34:12 -0500
From:	Jeff Garzik <jeff@...zik.org>
To:	Chris Snook <csnook@...hat.com>
CC:	v j <vj.linux@...il.com>,
	Trent Waddington <trent.waddington@...il.com>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: GPL vs non-GPL device drivers

Chris Snook wrote:
> Collaborating with the competition ("coopetition") on a common 
> technology platform reduces costs for anyone who chooses to get 
> involved, giving them a collective competitive edge against anyone who 
> doesn't.  This is why there is so much industry interest in F/OSS, and 
> mortal enemies in the business world happily work together on technical 
> issues in Linux.
[...]
> Your competitors who do participate in the community (and there are a 
> lot in the embedded space) enjoy reduced development costs, more stable 
> and better-reviewed code, continuous compatibility with the latest 
> versions, and influence in the community over the direction of future 
> development.  If you want to cede this advantage to your competitors, 
> that's between you and your investors.

I definitely agree that the above is an accurate assessment.

There is a flip side too.  For hardware vendors, there is an interesting 
dynamic of cooperation /and/ competition.  Hardware vendors still 
compete based on features, IP, and many other levels.

A hardware vendor that is unaware of how to compete in an open source 
world is a hardware vendor with a big fat hole in their business model.

It isn't usually politically correct to state this out loud, but, 
hardware vendors still compete quite heavily using "closed" intellectual 
property.  With open source, the lines just shift.

	Jeff

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