I wish you could provide a few (or just one) examples of open source code versions retroactively retracted after having been open source before.
I doubt such a case exists, but if it does I'd love to learn its story.
I doubt such a case exists, but if it does I'd love to learn its story.
> Even if there were a doctrine that existing redistributors were grandfathered forever, so they could continue making copies and giving it away, the license would not actually be available to the recipients, who are not existing licensees.
Well, that doctrine is there: if you grant someone a copyright license and they take you up on it, they have 35 years before you can revoke it, in the United States.
It's not clear that third parties continue to have the same privilege after you indicate that the license is no longer available to new licensees.