GPL Opensource and payware ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Antoine
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A

Antoine

In a a recent thread, which I didn't want to hijack, I noticed a
question about the availability of CD-Rom n. 4 of Mandrake
v10.1. This CD-Rom is only available to people having paid the
adequate licence to Mandrake. This makes me think about the 'payware
and GPL opensource' model ? It seems that some companies are
following this model and I wondered about its viability : if a
software is GPL opensource, then the company releasing it is free to
ask for a payment for the licence, but as the software is GPL'd, its
sources should be available. Anybody having then access to these
sources and being able to compile them could release a non-payware
version of the software, couldn't they ? Which would lead to the
loss of the payware version, if I am not wrong.
 
Antoine scribebat:
In a a recent thread, which I didn't want to hijack, I noticed a
question about the availability of CD-Rom n. 4 of Mandrake
Click to expand...

Not all programs included with Mandrake Linux are available under the GPL,
there is a "non-free" CD (with proprietary software), which is not
available as source code. For that reason, this CD is not available for
free and, of course, you cannot recompile and publish it.

Selling GPL'ed (or other free software) is usually not about the software
itself but rather some additional services (like a printed manual, support)
 
Onno Tasler said:
Antoine scribebat:

Not all programs included with Mandrake Linux are available under
the GPL, there is a "non-free" CD (with proprietary software),
which is not available as source code. For that reason, this CD is
not available for free and, of course, you cannot recompile and
publish it.
Click to expand...

I have reread the GPL licence and especially paragraph 2a) :
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php

<quote>b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part
thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties
under the terms of this License. </quote>

Afaik, CD n.4 of Mandrake contains for instance dsl modem drivers
for the Linux Mandrake operating system (GPL'd), contained on CDs 1
to 3. Couldn't then this CD n.4 be considered as a derived work from
the GPL'd part and then consequently be considered as GPL'd by
application of the GPL licence ?

I think I have missed something but the border between the GPL'd
part and the proprietary part on some Linux distributions is very thin
imho.
Selling GPL'ed (or other free software) is usually not about the
software itself but rather some additional services (like a
printed manual, support)
Click to expand...

You are right.

Thanks for your comments Onno.
 
Selling GPL'ed (or other free software) is usually not about the software
itself but rather some additional services (like a printed manual, support)
Click to expand...

Correct and if there is true value-add, then a profit should be taken.
 
Antoine scribebat:
Afaik, CD n.4 of Mandrake contains for instance dsl modem drivers
for the Linux Mandrake operating system (GPL'd), contained on CDs 1
to 3. Couldn't then this CD n.4 be considered as a derived work from
the GPL'd part and then consequently be considered as GPL'd by
application of the GPL licence ?
Click to expand...

No, because "derived work" means only other software which was written
using GPL'ed programs, the compilation of programs on a CD is not a derived
work. And since all GPL'ed programs are made available on CD 1 - 3, the GPL
is not breached. Do not forget that not Linux /as a whole/ is a program, a
Linux distribution always consists of hundreds of programs - and some of
this programs included in a distribution can be proprietary.

The drivers available on CD 4 might be proprietary driver for certain
modems created by the manufacturer of the modem, thus not connected with
the GPL'ed drivers on the other CDs and definitely own programs.
 
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