Mail Archives: cygwin/1997/02/13/00:16:51
In message <xd914u536l DOT fsf AT andros DOT cygnus DOT com>, Stan Shebs
<shebs AT cygnus DOT com> writes
>Jeremy had it pretty accurate, but "commercial" is not entirely
>relevant. Technically, if you use the GPLed library in a freeware
>app, then you would have to make the app's sources available upon
>request to anyone you gave the binary to (note: not to just anyone,
>just those that *you* gave it to).
That may have been the intent of the GPL but it is *not* what the GPL
actually says.
> 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
>under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
>Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
>
> a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
> source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections
> 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software
>interchange; or,
>
> b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
> years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
> cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
> machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
> distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
> customarily used for software interchange; or,
3c omitted (it deals with noncommercial distribution)
The key phrase is 'any third party'. This could be interpreted as
meaning you must give anyone who asks a copy.
It is irrelevant that this could be a wrong interpretation, companies
must take the most pessimistic interpretation of the licence.
--
Paul Shirley
-
For help on using this list, send a message to
"gnu-win32-request AT cygnus DOT com" with one line of text: "help".
- Raw text -