Free As In Gratis

Software which is available for no cost, but not available on terms which allow the user to receive, modify, and/or distribute source code. Also known as FreeAsInBeer/GratisSoftware. As opposed to FreeAsInSpeech/FreeAsInLibre?/LibreSoftware

Examples of FreeAsInGratis software:

Is there an example of software that is FreeAsInSpeech but not FreeAsInBeer?

In general, one cannot impose scarcity on FreeAsInSpeech software (via copyright, licensure, or other means) in order to charge excessive "rents" (prices), as the terms of such licenses invariably permit the recipient of the program to redistribute it, possibly free of charge. This ensures that the marginal price of the software remains equal to the marginal cost -- which for software is zero (or near zero, depending on how the software is distributed). In other words, you can't get rich selling licenses to free software; you have to provide something else of value to justify a price much higher than the marginal cost.


EditHint: All these "free" pages really ought to be ReFactored.


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