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As always, it's a challenge to maintain a popular project such as OpenVPN on a shoestring, and I'd like to thank everyone who has made a contribution thus far. The Windows TAP driver is becoming more expensive to support, especially with the new Vista driver signing requirements. I plan to jump through the hoops so that the Windows TAP driver will be fully signed for Vista, however this comes at a recurring cost, and I am considering ways that the OpenVPN project can offset these and other costs by increasing its sources of revenue. The Windows TAP driver has always been dual-licensed by OpenVPN Solutions LLC, with the GPL license for free usage, and a paid commercial license for companies that don't want to be restricted by the terms of the GPL, or that want to package the TAP driver in commercial software. One method I'm considering to help increase project revenue, but in a way that won't affect the vast majority of OpenVPN users, is to change the dual-licensing terms for the 2.1 Windows TAP driver, so that the free license would explicitly not allow commercial redistribution. This would mean that companies that package the Windows version of OpenVPN or the Windows TAP driver into a commercial product or service would now need to obtain a paid commercial license. Keep in mind that the terms of the GPL already restrict commercial redistribution of GPL and non-GPL code, and most companies that want to do so already must obtain a commercial license, however I'm proposing to make the delineation between the free and paid licenses more legally precise, and centered on whether or not commercial redistribution is occurring. This is just a proposal at this point, and I would like feedback from the community. Is this a reasonable idea for funding the project? Comments appreciated. James ______________________ OpenVPN mailing lists https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/openvpn-devel |