Weaponized Open Source
a day ago
- Startups use the AGPL license as a marketing tool to appear open source, but it actually functions as a veiled non-compete to eliminate competition.
- A Contributor License Agreement (CLA) allows the vendor to relicense the code, giving them exclusive rights to build proprietary features while preventing others from doing the same.
- The AGPL's ambiguity and 'infectious' copyleft clause create fear and uncertainty, causing businesses to avoid it and forcing them to use the vendor's cloud offering.
- This strategy is not about user freedom but about vendor lock-in, reducing open source to a marketing term.
- When such startups fail, their proprietary features disappear with no fallback, leaving customers with nothing.