On 04/14/2011 03:55 PM, Martin Langhoff wrote: > On Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Chris Perkins <cperkins@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> Let's look at this at a slighty different way. Let's say someone writes >> a GUI wrapper for Git, bundles it with Git, and then offers for sale a >> new proprietary SVC system. They list off all the wonderful features >> that it has. On the back page of their website is a small 'Licenses' >> disclosure and the source code to Git comes with the download buried in >> a subdirectory. None of the users realize the software is using Git. >> >> Is that a violation of the GPL? I would say that it absolutely is. > > It absolutely is not. Lots of companies do this, and it is perfectly > kosher -- either bundle the src somewhere or offer a link to download > the source somewhere. > > While IANAL, and specifically not _your_ lawyer, I have been in this > field for >10 years, and studied law @ masters level on software > licensing. You are reading the GPL wrong, and you're not aware of > widespread industry practices around it. > > Anyone who is curious about this gitbox thing, and interested in > *facts* instead of fiction, could advance our knowledge with a simple > procedure: > > - Download the "free" version (or payfor the paid version!). It's a > zipfile, no need to hurt any Macs. > > - See if it includes the src or a link to download the src -- it will > probably be in a corner of the documentation or license. Maybe there's > an offer to provide the src in a different way, but a download link is > the usual trick. > > - Does the link work? Can you effectively get the src? > > - Does the src match the binaries you got? Excellent answer; it would be great to know in detail what would be an effective (and efficient, if possible) procedure for validating GPL compliance. Something like a cartoon guide to the GPL for developers and/or users. I don't even know if my own GPL'ed projects are within the letter of the law here. -- Victor -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe git" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html