Jim Hall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Not quite. > > So from that, if packed binaries can be freely distributed for > non-commercial purposes, but commercial use requires a separate > license, then you have stripped away the freedoms of commercial > entities. Also, you have further required sub-licensing of the GNU > GPL program, which is invalid.
You make a compelling argument. But that still leaves the question of how Red Hat can keep people from redistributing the binaries for their Enterprise Edition. (I assume they have found a way, because nobody is offering the same binaries for free, as far as I can tell.) > There are a few misconceptions here. > > First, the GNU GPL does not require that you distribute the source > code WITH the program you distribute. It only requires that the > source code be available upon request. I don't think I ever said otherwise. However, there is definitely some confusion on this point. The GPL authors seem to disagree with you: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#AnonFTPAndSendSources They seem to think that the "written offer" clause only applies if you are distributing physical media or something. Not that any of this matters for the point at hand, which is that you are right; aPack executables are not consistent with the GPL. > If you ask a Red Hat salesperson, they will tell you that you *can* > install Enterprise Linux on more that one machine. But since Red Hat > Enterprise Linux (RHES/RHAS/RHWS) is bundled with a per-system update > subscription to Red Hat Network, you would technically violoate the > terms of Red Hat Network. But you don't violate the terms of the GNU > GPL. > > The restriction of redistributing Red Hat Enterprise Linux has more to > do with Red Hat Network, and not the GNU GPL. So they only give you the binaries in conjunction with a subscription whose terms prohibit further distribution of the binaries? How could that not qualify as a "further restriction" on the GPL? > The full text of the GNU GPL is included in DOCS/LICENSE.TXT (in the > http://www.drivesnapshot.de/freedos/emm386.zip version). Not sure how I missed that. Seems like I'm batting under 0.500 this week. - Pat ------------------------------------------------------- The SF.Net email is sponsored by EclipseCon 2004 Premiere Conference on Open Tools Development and Integration See the breadth of Eclipse activity. February 3-5 in Anaheim, CA. http://www.eclipsecon.org/osdn _______________________________________________ Freedos-kernel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-kernel
