Re: GPL question, can open source code can be used to prop. platform?

From: Lew Pitcher (lpitcher_at_sympatico.ca)
Date: 07/25/04 

Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 00:25:52 -0400

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Jim Richardson wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:06:45 -0400,
> Lew Pitcher <Lew.Pitcher@td.com> wrote:
>
>>>Santa wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Can opensource code (RH/Debian/SUSE) modified for inhouse firewall
>>>>platform
>>>
>>>Yes.
>>>
>>>
>>>>and can be sold in for commercial use?.
>>>
>>>Yes, but you have to GPL licence any modifications you make to GPL code,
>>>and provide a means by which your customers (and any third party) may
>>>obtain the source code of those changes. You may only charge a
>>>reasonable copying fee for any source code distributed (in other words,
>>>no $1M source code fees).
>>>
>
>
> Minor correction.
>
> There is no requirement for you to make the source code available to
> anyone but your customers. (or rather, the folks who you make the
> binaries available to) You just can't prohibit them from redistributing
> it :)
>
> <snip>
>
>

GPL v2 Clause 3 states (in part):

  3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under
      Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections
      1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:

      ...

      * b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years,
           to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of
           physically performing source distribution, a complete
           machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
           distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
           customarily used for software interchange; or,

- From the phrase "any third party" in clause 3b, it seems to me that the GPL
does indeed require that you make the source code available to someone other
than your direct customers. This seems explicitly to cover the condition where
your customer redistributes your GPLed code.

- --
Lew Pitcher

Master Codewright & JOAT-in-training | GPG public key available on request
Registered Linux User #112576 (http://counter.li.org/)
Slackware - Because I know what I'm doing.
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