Yes, this is what I meant. I also had a specific example in mind. Here's the scenario:
You're a hardware vendor, you lead the market. The hardware you sell has also has a software component. You'd like to take software out of the equation while maintaining your lead in hardware.
So you release the software under a GPL license. Other hardware vendors can start using the software, but they gain no advantage over you.
With luck, because it's free and widely available, your GPL software becomes a de facto standard. You maintain some control over it's development. But overall software becomes less of a factor in purchasing, which is now based on hardware (which is what you wanted, perhaps because your hardware advantage is secure).
New entrants into the market will also find it difficult to compete with you on software. Eventually a foundation may form to develop the software (like Symbian for example). Such a foundation pools the resources of a number of vendors, making it even harder to compete on software.
You're a hardware vendor, you lead the market. The hardware you sell has also has a software component. You'd like to take software out of the equation while maintaining your lead in hardware.
So you release the software under a GPL license. Other hardware vendors can start using the software, but they gain no advantage over you.
With luck, because it's free and widely available, your GPL software becomes a de facto standard. You maintain some control over it's development. But overall software becomes less of a factor in purchasing, which is now based on hardware (which is what you wanted, perhaps because your hardware advantage is secure).
New entrants into the market will also find it difficult to compete with you on software. Eventually a foundation may form to develop the software (like Symbian for example). Such a foundation pools the resources of a number of vendors, making it even harder to compete on software.