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by ZhangSWEFAANG 1267 days ago
> Some open code carries relatively light requirements, for example: “Don’t use my code commercially (don’t sell it or use it in something you sell)” and, very basically.

How can anyone even enforce this? Why can't I take some code, create a SaaS product for drug dealers, and then go sell it to my Opp Daquavion Marshawn III down the block? Who will ever find out?

1 comments

The reality is that open source license violation is rampant, even in big, recognized names. Enforcement, as you feel, is sparse. Usually an entity has to notice, and then make the effort to react to the situation, which doesn't happen often. There are entities who specifically work on licence violations, for example, you can report them on gnu.org[0]. Because there are large cases like TikTok using OBS code, and not contributing back[1], I'm sure there are lots of cases where the community simply doesn't find out in the first place, similarly to how software piracy is rampant in some places in the world, even among commercial entities.

In case you're interested in more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_license_litigation

[0] https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/enforcing-gpl.en.html

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/20/22847213/tiktoks-live-st...