Building a $36.5 million business with open source software

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-studionow/

by ahmicro • 15 years ago

14 8 15 years ago

ibm.com

devy• 15 years ago

This was submitted by the author Patrick A in late August. Why the re-submission?

ahmicro• 15 years ago

Sorry about that, did not see it.

delano• 15 years ago

It's helpful to include the previous thread.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2917158

beambot• 15 years ago

Has using GPL-licensed code prevented anyone else from being acquired? That really struck me...

acangiano• 15 years ago

Plenty of companies, whether they know it or not. Large companies like IBM are very cautious when it comes to code ownership and contamination. In some companies, employees have an easier time going through their divorce than getting an approval by an open source committee to use GPL software.

bradfa• 15 years ago

I'd expect IBM, of all "big companies," to be one of the least concerned about an acquisition using GPL software. They do so much work with GPL software, I'm sure they have very well defined internal policies on making sure they're in compliance. IBM is number 7 by measure of changesets (http://lwn.net/Articles/460597/) in the 3.1 Linux kernel.

Heck, my company (approx 150k employees) isn't what I'd consider a good contributor to open source software but even we have internal policies defining how we need to comply with GPL and other open source licenses. There's lawyers internally that specifically work with open source compliance.

As long as you have your act together and can show that you're compliant with all licenses (open or closed), I can't see why it would be a major barrier to a legit buyout offer.

wlievens• 15 years ago

A can attest that at my first employer (Britain's semiconductor flagship - well respected inside and outside open source communities), getting approval for open source libraries was a true pain. It took many months, with lawyers having to go over every file, and approval was never certain.

mgamma500• 15 years ago

Excellent info from your experience and great resources too.

Building a $36.5 million business with open source software

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