On 10/16/2013 01:55 PM, zanag...@aol.com wrote:
So, then, where the license says "The act of running the Program is
not restricted" is where it grants the rights for anyone to use the
software to make & receive phone calls for commercial purposes? (in
order to make a profit)
Do I have that correct?
(To be clear, in my above question, I'm not referring to making money
off of the actual software itself, in any way.)
I'm not sure what is meant by "output from the Program" in the
abovelicense quote. Would someone be able to interpret and briefly
summarize what that means? (I want to understand whether or not that
part applies to me.)
Output from the program refers to meta-programs. :-) I.e. programs
like compilers, code generators, etc. - software that writes software.
As a (not real) example, suppose Ekiga had a button labelled "Copy Me!",
which created a nice installer for ekiga to send to someone else. (That
is a trivial - in theory - example of software that writes software.)
That copy would be subject to GPL.
Note that there is *no* restriction on selling, or making a profit by
distributing the program. You simply *must* provide the source code
(free or at nominal charge) when doing so. If you were to get ekiga all
configured, with a really easy installer, then you could conceivably
sell it - provided you include, or make easily available, the source for
ekiga *and* any modifications to ekiga. Of course, a competitor can use
the source to create a competing product - so you have to have some
other factor that would make customers want to buy *yours*. Maybe your
support or warranty - as suggested in the licence itself. Perhaps you
have a book or manual to go with it that details your sales techniques.
The GPL is *not* against profit. It is against using restricted source
code as a "lock-in". GPL software can be, and is part of profitable
businesses. They just need other sorts of "lock-in".
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