Walking a fine line
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Void_Main Jun 27, 2004 3:54 PM EDT |
This is the first I have heard of this "Lineox" and I'm pretty sure I don't like what I see. Read this reminds me a lot of licenses I have read from a couple of other companies: http://www.lineox.com/supportlicense.php They may not be doing anything against the rules but I gotta think they are walking a fine line. I don't know, is it just me? |
| crazy88 Jun 27, 2004 5:16 PM EDT |
Well,their license is for services, not for GPL'd software so there's nothing wrong there. However, in offering services, they are not allowed to restrict distribution of the GPL'd software, which is what they appear to do, as they require a username and password in order to download the software. I see no way of obtaining a username and password other than by purchasing the services, so that would be a restriction on distribution and therefore constitute a breach of the GPL. I hope I am wrong in this. I wish Lineox and all other companies working with Linux all the success they can get, but they have to abide by the license terms of the code they are using. |
| sbergman27 Jun 27, 2004 11:49 PM EDT |
They are required to make available, upon request, to any parties to which they have distributed the binaries, the source code of any modifications they have made to GPL'd code. They cannot restrict those parties from redistributing the source code to anyone they choose, though they are not under obligation to distribute anything to anyone. If they have not distributed binaries to you, then you have no rights to their source code. If you have not paid them, then they are under no obligation to distribute the binaries to you. Remember, it's about Free speech, not free beer. |
| Void_Main Jun 28, 2004 4:06 AM EDT |
It's the "audit" thing that strikes me. What are they going to "audit"? I have a right to put GPL software on all the machines I want. It reads like a SCO contract to me. Also, if it really is a support license that's one thing but it almost reads like a software license to me which is the fine line I was talking about. |
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