From: Anatoly Vorobey (mellon_at_nonexisting.hamakor.org.il)
Date: Tue 24 Aug 2004 - 15:25:32 IDT
On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 01:59:59PM +0300, Nadav Har'El wrote:
> You are forgetting one important thing: you can only relicense the parts
> of the software that you own the copyright for! Let me give you an example
> of a relicense you cannot do.
>
> Let's say that product XYZ is GPL. You create an improved version, and call
> it XYZ++, and release it under the GPL. Now, a client of yours wants to
> buy the rights to XYZ++ which will allow them to make their own changes it
> and to sell the resulting product without its source. You simply cannot sell
> these rights to them!
While you're correct about my inability to do so (I do realize it,
but thanks anyway for a concrete example), the reason you cannot sell
your client the right to distribute XYZ++ or
a modified version of it without the source isn't that XYZ cannot be
distributed without its source. XYZ as a product is no longer relevant;
what's relevant is those provisions of the license of XYZ that allowed
you to create a new product, XYZ++. Among those provisions was your
obligation to license XYZ++ under the GPL to all third parties, in case
you distribute XYZ++ at all. If you sell the *rights* to XYZ++ to your
client (as opposed to a license to use XYZ++), you pass on those
obligations to them as well, and now *they* cannot distribute any
work based on XYZ++ without also distributing it under the GPL.
> The fact that you also release XYZ++ under the GPL doesn't help you.
I know; I wasn't claiming the existence of a huge loophole around the
GPL's requirements. There is none (as far as I'm aware).
-- avva "There's nothing simply good, nor ill alone" -- John Donne ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to linux-il-request_at_linux.org.il with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail linux-il-request_at_linux.org.il
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Tue 24 Aug 2004 - 15:35:30 IDT