Re: comparison of public licenses?

From: <SSchott[_at_]sglm.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 09:38:00 -0500

On Mon, Jan 31, 2000, Lynn Winebarger <owinebar[_at_]free-expression.org> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 31 Jan 2000, Stephen B. Schott <sschott[_at_]sglm.com> wrote:
> >
> > 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.
>
> When Stallman uses the word "free" in reference to software, he's
> generally not talking about "no-charge". Perhaps your thinking has
> been polluted by the practices of proprietary software publishers.
> When you buy a CD full of GPL'ed software, you're really buying the
> copy, not a license. I can charge as much as I like for those
> copies. What I can't do is charge for the license to the copyright
> (GPL) that comes with it.
>
> If there's any confusion, we call always email RMS.

He's probably talking about both. 2b of the license says:

   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.

I take this to mean that you can't charge a fee for distributing a modified work. I have an email into FSF asking for clarification -- I'll let you know the answer.

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

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