I'm sorry but, what the ****?

I don't think anybody currently involved in maemo development is taking OSS code and reworking it to be sold.

It doesn't? Just in case the distinction is lost: you are perfectly able and allowed to publish outside Ovi if you don't like their terms.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, provided you include source when you sell it.

I can see, in the near future, an alternative (for profit) application store for maemo apps appearing.

Developer signs up (easily, free).
Users buy apps (from web, on device, wherever).
Developers get x%, app store gets 100-x%.

Exactly. There are tons of apps I could git clone or svn export that I would gladly pay somebody a dollar to five dollars to compile and send me the binary.

Sorry, I'm on vacation from this crummy site, but I have to return to ask a question about this.

Why is the liability insurance necessary? Why not ask the user to sign a liability WAIVER and if they won't sign the waiver, don't sell them the product?

I'd really like to see something like Magnatune, where paying is encouraged but the user chooses the price.

Maybe the user could choose the price after they've had the app for a short time, so they know better if they really appreciate it or not. That would have to be an active process, where the user is prompted after that time, rather than a passive one which expects the user to remember and be bothered.

That might work even when the developer chooses to include source - i.e. proper commercial open source - because the user is directed to make an active decision about whether and how much to pay, even though they are free to decide "none", or copy the program from elsewhere.

What do you think?

I think that's a damn good idea!

In general you can't do that with public liability, because every company would do it (in the small print as part of every signed contract), and that would defeat the point of public liability, which is public protection from dangerous products and services.

Same with employees: they can't waive their right to be treated safely. Otherwise lots of people would, just to get a job, and that would put people in danger which liability is there to reduce.

Well, you can sign a waiver, of course, but it doesn't stop you from suing someone who harms you anyway, and winning. It may suggest informed consent, perhaps, in some circumstances.

But if you notice, this thread was started about the Ovi Store and liability regarding copyright infringement claims in particular.

Those claims aren't brought by the customer; they are brought by third parties. I don't see the claimants (the third parties) signing any waivers in those cases :-)

I still don't get why/how this wasn't resolved before actually shipping the device.