If that were true, BSD-licensed projects like PostgreSQL, LLVM, Xorg, or Apache would die off long time ago, replaced by their GNU-licensed counterparts. Yet we're witnessing the exact opposite happening.
Licenses don't work like you think they do. In fact, they work backwards: the decision whether to release the source or not doesn't depend on the license, it's the license - and thus the choice of existing software to base your work on - that depends on the decision on whether not to release the source.
BSD makes it possible to release your changes if - and when - you see fit. GPL - doesn't. That's why companies like Sony or Juniper couldn't base their products on Linux. Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.
Using the GPL doesn't guarantee you that your project will take over the world. Using a BSD licence doesn't automatically doom your project. But in the case of the Linux kernel, its use of the GPL appears to be the reason for its success - it's not that it always had compelling technical advantages over BSD.
This is Torvalds' idea, not mine [0] (though he doesn't speak to Linux-vs-BSD directly)
> Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.
But in aggregate, Linux has taken over the world, and BSD hasn't. The 'snowball' effect is real.
Then again, it didn’t help GNU Hurd, or othe GPL-licensed systems. So my guess - given a number of examples - is that it’s not the license that helped Linux.
Licenses don't work like you think they do. In fact, they work backwards: the decision whether to release the source or not doesn't depend on the license, it's the license - and thus the choice of existing software to base your work on - that depends on the decision on whether not to release the source.
BSD makes it possible to release your changes if - and when - you see fit. GPL - doesn't. That's why companies like Sony or Juniper couldn't base their products on Linux. Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.