On Sun, Aug 03, 2003, Gilad Ben-Yossef wrote about "Trademarks, copyright licenses, the GPL and RedHat":AFAIK they are not talking about a *program*, but about several picture and text files, the name you use to call the distribution etc.
This includes their logo and name used on the software on their CDs. If you want to distribute the software, you need to remove their trademark from it.
...
Does this violate the principles of Free Software (note that I didn't say anything about the GPL license - IANAL, I'm asking if you think it hurts violates the philosophy of Free Software):
According to the GPL, I am allowed to make verbatim copies of GPLed binaries (this this just one of the rights the GPL gives you). So that if Redhat's installer is GPL, I am allowed to copy it, complete with the Redhat logos in the installation process. I am also allowed to copy programs like "redhat-config-apache" (or whatever), and the "redhat-release" package because they are marked GPL too (at least on the Redhat 7.3 that I checked).
So Redhat cannot forbid you from using those things on a derived distribution unless they stop distributing those things under the GPL!
Agreed - for programs. They don't stop you from distributing the *programs*, sources etc. All they say is that you can't distribute the distribution as a whole together with their name. You can do whatever you want with the programs subject to the licensing terms.
Is it different then we used to do up till now? yes, it is. But is it still Free Software? I think it is.
Keeping software users rights is one thing (and a good one). Keeping RedHats right to their name is another and non related thing.
I agree that where the name is embodied in the software it's not reasnoable to ask you to not distribute the binary. But as they request to change specific files in the distributions that are not programs, but rather content that carries their names I think it is reasnoable, even though it might not be convinient.
In practice, all it means that after every RedHat version that comes out we'll get someone to produce GNR (GNR is Not RedHat) which will be bitwise identical except for the logos you see when you install.
Gilad
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