> when companies have told me that they hate the GPL because they are not keen on spending a lot of time, energy, and money modifying some piece of code, only to be required to give it to their competitors for free
Some piece of code that also cost time (and possibly someone's else money) to develop, and that they got for free?
Some piece of code that also cost time (and possibly someone's else money) to develop, and that they got for free?