[sword-devel] GPL and source code

[peter]

Jonathan Morgan wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 21, 2008 at 1:50 AM, peter <refdoc at gmx.net> wrote:
>>  You will appreciate that your obligations according the GPL are a bit more.
>>
>>  1) If you rebrand the software (which you appear to have done) you have
>>  effectively altered its sources and must advertise this fact + provide
>>  the altered sources.
> 
> This is correct.
> 
>>  2) If you distribute the software you must be clear to the customers
>>  that this is GPL free software. Before they buy. I see no such reference
>>  in the material on the website. In fact the website makes it appear that
>>  this is your software. Which is not true.
> 
> I'm not so convinced of this one (and yes, I have just read through
> the GPL). 

"provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy
an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact
all the notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any
warranty; and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this
License along with the Program. "

I think a lot hangs on the "conspicuously". I would think if you are
tied into a contract before you had a chance to read the "conspicuous"
notice then it was not conspicuous at all. But maybe I am wrong here.
IANAL etc.

But even if I am right, the main problem Thinkall and all similar
outfits probably have is not with the GPL but with the FTC. Which is
bad enough a problem to have... We are hardly in a position to enforce
GPL compliance beyond blacklisting.

Peter


 I do not find that item 1 says this.  It says that the
> copyright and disclaimer of warranty must be prominently displayed on
> the copy (probably the CD), but I'm not convinced that that would mean
> that it had to be displayed on the website.
> 
> Jon
> 
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