[H-GEN] Kernel source

[ben.carlyle at invensys.com]

Raymond,





"Raymond Smith" <raymond at humbug.org.au>
Sent by: Majordomo <majordom at caliburn.humbug.org.au>
30/10/2003 03:35 PM
Please respond to general

 
        To:     <general at lists.humbug.org.au>
        cc: 
        Subject:        Re: [H-GEN] Kernel source


> Ben Carlyle wrote:
> > IANAL, but given this context I think it's also relevant to point out
> > that  Mandrake would not be required to provide the sources of these
> > pre-release  GPL binaries to just anyone. It would only be the people
> > they actually distributed the binaries to that would be automatically
> > eligible to request and recieve the sources at the cost of
> > distribution.

> Nor am I a Lawyer, but I think the FSF would take a different view:
>    http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#WhatDoesWrittenOfferValid

That's an interesting link. Thanks :)

I'll cut-and-paste the relevant bits of the page here, because it really 
changes my understanding of an important aspect of the GPL:

--begin--
What does this "written offer valid for any third party" mean? Does that 
mean everyone in the world can get the source to any GPL'ed program no 
matter what?
"Valid for any third party" means that anyone who has the offer is 
entitled to take you up on it. 
If you commercially distribute binaries not accompanied with source code, 
the GPL says you must provide a written offer to distribute the source 
code later. When users non-commercially redistribute the binaries they 
received from you, they must pass along a copy of this written offer. This 
means that people who did not get the binaries directly from you can still 
receive copies of the source code, along with the written offer. 
The reason we require the offer to be valid for any third party is so that 
people who receive the binaries indirectly in that way can order the 
source code from you. 
The GPL says that modified versions, if released, must be "licensed ... to 
all third parties." Who are these third parties?
Section 2 says that modified versions you distribute must be licensed to 
all third parties under the GPL. "All third parties" means absolutely 
everyone--but this does not require you to *do* anything physically for 
them. It only means they have a license from you, under the GPL, for your 
version. 
--end--

I'm still not sure I understand the rammification here. Reading the 
relevant section of the GPL it appears that the source must be available 
to anyone with a written offer for three years, but does the act of 
distributing a modified version of a GPL application automatically create 
a contract between you and everyone on the planet to supply the source, 
even if they don't have a copy of your software or even a source of 
electric power.... or does the act of distribution limit the agreement to 
those who have recieved the binaries by whatever means?

In terms of the Mandrake discussion if the first option is true then you 
can ask for the source code no matter who you are. I'm suspicious, though, 
that it's the second possibility and that you still need to have the 
binaries (or at least the written offer that you must legally have 
recieved with the binaries) in order to request the sources.

I think I'd better take a GPL refresher course... :)

Benjamin.(On another note, when was the last time you recieved a written offer to 
supply the source code with any binary distribution?? Perhaps a crackdown 
is required here...)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.humbug.org.au/pipermail/general/attachments/20031030/cf73e92a/attachment.html>