This is the archived version of Roland Weigelt's weblog that ran from 2003 to 2023 at weblogs.asp.net

Usage of GhostDoc in Large Corporations

A message to all developers in large corporations out there: If you try/have to approve the usage of GhostDoc because of company policy, you may get the response that legal problems prohibit the usage as no agreement could be reached with the author (i.e. me). To avoid the impression that I'm trying to rip off your company in any way, I'd like to explain this:

If a company approaches me asking whether the usage of GhostDoc is allowed for commercial purposes, I point them to the license which clearly states that this is the case. If company policy still requires an explicit statement regarding commercial use, I don't have any problem with that, either.

But: I will not sign any multi-page legalese for a piece of software that I didn't actively offer, let alone try to sell to a company in the first place. If my freeware license is not compatible with company policy, then that's unfortunate, but it's nothing I will do anything about - sorry.

2 Comments

  • Here is a solution for individual developers. Just install the plug in and use it. No need to seek anything from legal. That way, no bureaucracy to deal with.

  • Hi Kris,

    this was not about re-distribution. I have received requests for allowing the re-destribution of GhostDoc e.g. on a magazine CD in the past and I had little problem doing the (very little) paperwork involved.

    By the way, the situation has been resolved in the meantime. After declining to sign the two pages of legal verbage, the company managed to reduce the whole text down to *one* important sentence - that I should not use the name of the company to endorse or promote GhostDoc. No problem with that: I don't mention the name, end of story.

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