On Wed, Jan 28, 2015 at 8:56 PM, D R <[email protected]> wrote: > Question: What would you do if a company 'requires' you to download freeware > to be used in a corporate setting?
I would read the license, and assuming such use is allowed, do the work. If the license prohibits said usage, I'd bring that to the attention of my supervisor. > I don't mind using freeware to work on mine, or a friend's computer, to get > something taken care of. But requiring the technician to download and use > freeware in a corporate setting is something entirely different. Actually, it's almost identical in most cases. The only difference is the legal entity acting as the licensee. > Don't most of the EULA/GNU License agreements stipulate it is ok > for the software to be used, for individual use, but in business/corporate > setting that a multi-use/group license must be purchased? It is true that *some* software which is offered "free" is limited to personal/private use. The license will state this. If so, then it would indeed be improper to use such software in a business, without obtaining a separate license. But lots and lots of software which is offered "free" is offered free for any use, including corporate/business/commercial use, for hire, or/or making baby mulching machines (to paraphrase Theo de Raadt). GNU software is generally licensed under the GPL, which requires that modifications (and maybe patents) be freely licensed, but it's generally free to use in a corporate environment. -- Ben
