Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1751756AbWADLyt (ORCPT ); Wed, 4 Jan 2006 06:54:49 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1751758AbWADLyt (ORCPT ); Wed, 4 Jan 2006 06:54:49 -0500 Received: from mail.shareable.org ([81.29.64.88]:54222 "EHLO mail.shareable.org") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751756AbWADLys (ORCPT ); Wed, 4 Jan 2006 06:54:48 -0500 Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 11:54:22 +0000 From: Jamie Lokier To: Harald Welte Cc: Ben Slusky , Steven Rostedt , linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org, legal@lists.gnumonks.org, "Robert W. Fuller" , LKML Kernel , Kyle Moffett , info@crossmeta.com Subject: Re: blatant GPL violation of ext2 and reiserfs filesystem drivers Message-ID: <20060104115422.GA2562@mail.shareable.org> References: <43AACF77.9020206@sbcglobal.net> <496FC071-3999-4E23-B1A2-1503DCAB65C0@mac.com> <1135283241.12761.19.camel@localhost.localdomain> <20051223153541.GA13111@paranoiacs.org> <20060104110929.GH4898@sunbeam.de.gnumonks.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20060104110929.GH4898@sunbeam.de.gnumonks.org> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.1i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2203 Lines: 48 Harald Welte wrote: > > The case here appears to be: > > > > * Crossmeta offers "add-on" software as a free download from their web > > site: . > > The zip file contains a text file gpl-license.txt, which says that the > > add-ons are offered under the terms of the GPL. > > > > * User downloads this GPLed software and asks the developer to provide > > source code. Developer replies that the source code will be provided > > only to paying customers: > > . > > > > That's baad, m'kay? > > This is definitely not acceptable. A written offer must be valid to ANY > 3RD PARTY. > > So it wouldn't even be enough to offer the source code to paying > customers and those who downloaded the binary code, but actually it must > be made available to anyone who asks for it. Ah, that depends on whether they provided the source code for download to paying customers at the time those customers downloaded the binary. GPL section 3: If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent access to copy the source code from the same place counts as distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not compelled to copy the source along with the object code. What this means is that if you make the source code available alongside the binary, e.g. on a web site under the same conditions of access, you don't need to provide the written offer to all 3rd parties; indeed, you don't need to provide the written offer at all. The above description of what Crossmeta did doesn't clearly say if Crossmeta provided their customers with the binary and an offer to get source on request (the written offer), or if those paying customers were able to download the source at the same time as the binaries. -- Jamie - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/