On Friday 28 Aug 2009, Anupam Jain wrote: > However I wonder about the proprietary compiler itself. if it's based > on GCC, it needs to be licensed under GPL, even if it's distributed > in-house. So any developer who works for this company and has lawful > access to the executable can demand the sources and then distribute > these sources to the general public under GPL.
Nope. Distribution is specifically deemed to be to III-parties, not within an organisation. If your company is using a proprietary version of a GPL software in-house, you as an employee cannot demand the sources since the software has not been distributed to you. > Is it possible for the > company to legally prevent its employees from doing this? The company can just (legally) withhold the source code from its employees. The employees' terms of employment would prevent them from revealing company secrets (the compiler binaries in this case) to anyone outside the company in any case. > What > happens if someone not "authorised" by the company gets access to the > binaries illegally or accidently. Can he then demand the sources > under GPL? Again, "distribution" is defined as a pro-active task. You giving me binaries of a GPL software is an act of distribution on your part and the terms of the GPL apply; my stealing the binaries from your laptop is not an act of distribution, and the terms of the GPL do not apply. Regards, -- Raju -- Raj Mathur [email protected] http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F PsyTrance & Chill: http://schizoid.in/ || It is the mind that moves _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
