No, you can't take open source code back

Re:No, you can't take open source code back by 0xcde4c3db on Thursday February 14, 2019 @09:37AM (#19162124)

Some developers seem to engage in very wishful thinking about licensing. I remember seeing, ~15-20 years ago, "licenses" asserting not merely the right to globally revoke the license, but to change the terms retroactively, which is completely absurd.

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Re:No, you can't take open source code back by zeroname on Thursday February 14, 2019 @09:58AM (#19162281)

"Absurdity" is not a legal term, to my knowledge. Don't assume that because a contract is absurd, exploitative or even satirical that it won't hold up in court.

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Re:No, you can't take open source code back by 0xcde4c3db on Friday February 15, 2019 @01:10AM (#19168825)

I use the term "absurd" not to make a legal argument, but to suggest that such an agreement is fundamentally devoid of any sensible meaning in the context of forming a contract. I'm no lawyer, but I suspect that the legal argument would boil down to the offer of a license being illusory [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_promise

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Re:No, you can't take open source code back by hnbroseph on Thursday February 14, 2019 @12:59PM (#19164110)

there are a variety of reasons a contract can be unenforceable, including notions of being 'unconscionable' or 'unfair'.

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