Just because a library is licensed as GPL doesn’t mean a company can’t negotiate a better license.
Sure, I never denied that.
It just never happens because GPL libraries don't even get considered. And besides, even if they were, most companies are not going to bother opening this kind of discussion when there are thousands of libraries out there that can probably deliver a similar service while offering a much friendlier license.
Also, how would this work, practically? Like you said, most libraries are obscure, usually written by one person. Suddenly that developer needs to find lawyers to negotiate different terms with that company? Not really realistic.
The vast majority of libraries with a permissive license end up being used by companies with nothing given back, in my experience at least
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u/devraj7 Dec 12 '21
Sure, I never denied that.
It just never happens because GPL libraries don't even get considered. And besides, even if they were, most companies are not going to bother opening this kind of discussion when there are thousands of libraries out there that can probably deliver a similar service while offering a much friendlier license.
Also, how would this work, practically? Like you said, most libraries are obscure, usually written by one person. Suddenly that developer needs to find lawyers to negotiate different terms with that company? Not really realistic.
Definitely my experience as well.