Windows installer from python source code without access to source code

[Jim Schwartz]

I am writing an app but I’m not sure I’ll sell it yet. I have it in a private GitHub location and GitHub prompts me for a license. I don’t really understand licenses so I just picked Apache 2.0. Maybe I’m going too far with my worry about which license I pick. I’m not selling it now so it doesn’t matter. I have to do a lot more work before I get to that point  

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 31, 2023, at 6:52 PM, Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Sat, 1 Apr 2023 at 10:34, Jim Schwartz <jschwar at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Yea. You’re right. I probably need a lawyer someday. Thanks.
>> 
> 
> If your needs are basic, you shouldn't need a lawyer. Copyright law
> and treaties DO protect you. But it's important to be aware that no
> amount of legal protection - whether you hire a lawyer or not, and
> whether you identify copyright and license or not - will stop people
> from copying your code. NOTHING will stop people from copying your
> code if they have access to it. All you can do is discourage them.
> 
> So that brings us back to the original question: Why protect your
> *source code* specifically? There are two extremes available to
> everyone:
> 
> 1) Distribute the source code. Let everyone see it. Stick a license on
> it that permits them to use it, modify it, distribute modified
> versions. Set your code free and let it be used.
> 
> 2) Don't distribute the program *at all*. Don't distribute the source
> OR the binary. Instead, permit people to *access* the program - which,
> in today's world, usually means a web service.
> 
> Both of these are very popular and work well. I don't have access to
> the Gmail source code but I'm using the service. I don't have access
> to the Twitch.tv source code but I'm using the service. Meanwhile, I
> have Python programs running on a Debian system using the Linux
> kernel, invoked using bash, served from an ext4 mass storage device,
> etc, etc. I have the binary code for all of these, and I'm legally
> guaranteed access to the source if I want it, so there's no incentive
> to steal it.
> 
> The middle ground of "distribute binaries but stop people from
> accessing the source" is a much narrower use-case, and I would say
> that it's not actually a single use-case but a family of them, each
> with different needs and requirements. So it's essential to know what
> you're actually trying to protect, and why.
> 
> ChrisA
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