My ExtJS drama

Jack Slocum, the creator of ExtJS, is whining on his latest blog post.

ExtJS was originally an extension for YUI, a javascript library that made front-end development simple and easy. It forked into its own library, and ExtJS version 1.0 was released. Jack states:

Ext JS 1.0 is released under the LGPL. Shortly thereafter 2 major publicly traded corporations (names withheld) embedded Ext JS into their development frameworks. With no mention of Ext JS except in credits files that no one ever saw. No support for all the work that had been put into the framework. Neither one of them even contacted us. How can that be possible? Can they do that? How can we compete with them taking such a large chunk of our potential customers? These are the questions I was faced with and so began my “Intro to Business 101″.

So basically, Jack got upset that another company stole his original idea and hard-work, and started turning a profit from it all.

So he changes the license by adding some stipulations to stop that from happening again, meaning the ExtJS team could take legal action if it happens again.

But let me suppose this example situation and explore the outcome.

Apple released the iPhone. The world is wowed. The following month China released the first iPhone Clone. What does Apple do?

-- Steve Jobs posts a blog on Apple.com stating that he feels betrayed by the Chinese company for allowing this infringement to occur. He talks about his family and his personal feelings and states something like "Is it fair that some people who don’t know me at all seem to pass judgement (sic) on me as if they do?" He then asks the Chinese government to hand-deliver his Cease-and-Desist order for the iPhone Mimic. The government complies, production is stopped, an apology is issued, and Steve Jobs sleeps soundly that night knowing that his bid for world domination is almost complete.

Um. No. Here's what they'll do Jack, so pay attention:

They'll let the world know that version 2.0 of the iPhone is being released soon. That's right, with all new features, bug fixes, upgrades, and enhancements... they'll add 3G speeds, video chat with a brand-new camera on the front of the device, and they'll open up the SDK to allow for 3rd party applications!!

And the world forgets about those cheap knock-off iPhone Mimics from China. Whoops. Looks like those Chinese factory owners have to do some more research to pull off the next generation of iPhone clones... and by the time those are released, Apple comes back with the version 3.0 announcement!

Do you see the pattern here? I hope so, because it's been the pattern of business for 2,000 years.

You produce something.
Competitor copies it.
You make it better. You keep the customers. You make the profit.

You asked how you compete Jack? That's how you compete. I should note that I am not necessarily against a commercial license for ExtJS. I am a recent convert, having used YUI for years. I enjoy the functionality your library offers and, if at all possible, hope to continue using it for my personal non-profit websites in the future.

But if there's one thing you learn in Intro to Business 101 it's this: Know your product monetary potential from the conception. If you're going to charge licensing fees, do so from the start like Adobe Flex/Air. Otherwise, if you go the open-source route, keep it that way for the lifetime of the product. Why? Simple: People want to know what they are getting into. Bottom line.