> Businesses have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder profits. If you're selling software, that means minimizing costs and maximizing income. It is the legal obligation of a company to take any permissively licensed code it can get its hands on and thinks will speed things up, extend it a little, and sell it.
This is not true.
First, not every business is a corporation or has shareholders.
Second, fiduciary responsibility does not require maximizing shareholder value (or profits). This has been explained several times here on HN and elsewhere by people who know much more about it than me. Here's one good explanation and discussion:
Excerpt: "...there is no law stating that the purpose of a corporation must be to maximize shareholder return. The corporation’s purpose may be any legal purpose, chosen by the creator and/or the shareholders. There is no requirement of law that profit or the maximization of value or return must be paramount or even on the list of objectives. The overwhelming majority of U.S. corporations have in their articles of incorporation an article stating that the corporation shall have the right to engage in any legal activity."
This is not true.
First, not every business is a corporation or has shareholders.
Second, fiduciary responsibility does not require maximizing shareholder value (or profits). This has been explained several times here on HN and elsewhere by people who know much more about it than me. Here's one good explanation and discussion:
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/law-legal/corporate-law/corp...
Excerpt: "...there is no law stating that the purpose of a corporation must be to maximize shareholder return. The corporation’s purpose may be any legal purpose, chosen by the creator and/or the shareholders. There is no requirement of law that profit or the maximization of value or return must be paramount or even on the list of objectives. The overwhelming majority of U.S. corporations have in their articles of incorporation an article stating that the corporation shall have the right to engage in any legal activity."