[computer-go] Licenses are uselless

[Chrilly]

The problem with contracts or licenses of any kind is that it is practically 
impossible to enforce them especially in a foreign country. The story is 
different if you are IBM or Microsoft with a big stuff of lawyers. But even 
the big players usually do not go to court, they just use their patents and 
rights in playing patent-poker with other competitors.
E.g. Marty Hirsch, the author of MChess, was cheated by his German 
distributor. But it is practically impossible to start a long juridical 
dispute from the States in Germany. And of course also the other way round. 
I had some conflicts with Ossi Weiner, once the second greatest chess 
distributor after ChessBase over 130.000 DMark (about 100.000 $) for 
licencse payments. Although its theoretically possible to start a legal case 
from Austria in Germany, it consumes alll your energy and even if you win, 
you have invested so much energy that you are at the end out of the market. 
I aggreed without going to court on a payment of 100.000 DM and changed to 
ChessBase.
I had in this case clear cut contracts.
So I am really asking myself about the importance if any involved licencse 
policy. If you want to keep your secrets for yourself, do not publish the 
code. If you want that others are using it, keep it on a place for download. 
But do not complain that it is used by others for any purpose they like. 
Once the code is out, there is no real way to protect it.

Chrilly