Jeff Haynie reached a crossroads last summer. Haynie, CEO of Appcelerator, a firm that develops open source cross-platform application development software, made a decision filled with implications for his company's future.

Serena Software is licensing its Business Mashups software under Creative Commons licenses. Under the program, Serena will license 13 pre-built Business Mashups and will do so with others that the company builds in the future. Business Mashups serve as graphical representations of simple business processes, such as vacation requests and sales discount approvals. Key quote: "Because they're graphics, you can't use traditional software licensing rules."

Why does the GNU General Public License have to be the definitive license for Free and Open Source Software? Consider the BSD license type -- a more business-friendly variety that allows for businesses to make a profit while preserving the public interest, writes columnist Jeremiah T.

So I talked about licenses. And license obligations. And interesting bits of the GPL version 2. There’s one clause of the GPL version 2 that I’d like to single out because it’s one that is surprising to me — and rarely mentioned. Clause 6.

I’ve talked in the past about a number of “open source” business models. There’s the MySQL “dual license” model, where all the software is available under an open license but a proprietary license can be purchased.

"Viral marketing is one of the most creative ways of promoting a business..."

A couple of weeks ago Google announced their WebM project, which provided a free software implementation of their VP8 video codec and a license to exercise the patents the company held on the software.

I have noticed a trend developing in the business models of successful open source companies. These companies are implementing a business model that is based on dual licensing their software.

Last week, I wrote about the somewhat-vague definition of the open core business model, and how it compared to the dual-license business model. Open core, like dual licenses, are all part of the whole "ways-to-make-money-faster-with-open-source-software" genre of business, but they are not the same thing.