> The issue is that large companies can free-load off open source projects and make millions while contributing nothing back to the developers.
That by itself is not necessarily a problem. There's lots of people using open source software without contributing back, and lots of open source contributors completely fine with it.
The problem, the one that Commons Clause appears to try to solve, is when the "freeloading" companies also threaten the viability of the company supporting the project. For example, if a project is developed by a company financing itself through providing commercial support for that project, then that only works if that company is the main player that companies in need of commercial support would go through (e.g. Canonical, Red Hat).
That by itself is not necessarily a problem. There's lots of people using open source software without contributing back, and lots of open source contributors completely fine with it.
The problem, the one that Commons Clause appears to try to solve, is when the "freeloading" companies also threaten the viability of the company supporting the project. For example, if a project is developed by a company financing itself through providing commercial support for that project, then that only works if that company is the main player that companies in need of commercial support would go through (e.g. Canonical, Red Hat).