Re: comparison of public licenses?

From: <SSchott[_at_]sglm.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 09:09:54 -0500

On Sun, 30 Jan 2000, Lynn Winebarger <owinebar[_at_]free-expression.org> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 28 Jan 2000, Stephen B. Schott <sschott[_at_]sglm.com> wrote:
> >
> > The license allows for a licensee to sell the unmodified Program
> > for the cost of making the copy and also allows the licensee to
> > offer warranties on the software (otherwise the software comes
> > with all warranties disclaimed -- this is part of the license).
>
> False -- the wording of part 1 is:
>
> You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy,
> and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange
> for a fee.
>
> There is nothing here to limit you to the cost of making the copy, and
> I have never seen any indication from the FSF to support your claim
> (quite the opposite).

I was imprecise -- you are correct. It is not the "cost" of making the copy that a licensee can charge someone for. You can charge a fee for making the copy.

> > It does not allow for the licensee to sell the Program for a fee if
> > she made changes to the Program (the licensee can't profit from a
> > derivative work) (there are other conditions but these are the
> > highlights).
>
> False again. I believe you are referring to clause 2b:
>
> 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.
>
> It says the license (GPL) must come at no charge, not the copy. You
> can still sell copies for as much as you want to charge.

Not really -- you can sell copies of the copyright holder's work for a fee, but modified copies must be distributed for no charge. Richard Stallman explains this well in his article at: <http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/stallman.html>: "For an effective copyleft, modified versions must also be free." That is precisely what the clause you quoted says -- modified programs must be distributed freely under the terms of the license.

I'm not sure we disagree here -- I think you may have thought I was talking about distribution of unmodified works here but I was discussing modified works, which MUST be distributed for free under the terms of the license.

Stephen B. Schott
<sschott[_at_]sglm.com>

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