Re: DFSG and GPL -- source retention
Raul Miller <rdm@test.legislate.com> wrote:
>> >This is ok if we shut down all any publically accessible mirrors which
>> >only offer binaries.
>
>Oliver Elphick <olly@lfix.co.uk> wrote:
>> Mirror site owners/administrators are responsible for their own
>> policies. Surely Debian itself is responsible only for ...debian.org?
>
>I meant from the official mirrors list. To quote from README.mirrors:
>"A Secondary mirror site may have restrictions on what they mirror
>(due to space restrictions) that being source code or non-i386 binaries."
>
>One solution is for a well advertised public site to keep the GPLed
>sources around for three years after the binaries are deleted from all
>our mirrors, so that binary-only mirrors can "repeat the offer" for
>distribution of the source.
>
>Another is that we warn people who are interested in setting up mirrors
>that this is an issue -- that they're legally obligated to publically
>redistribute the sources if they publically redistribute the binaries.
>And drop from the official mirrors list any sites which would violate
>the GPL.
They are not legally obligated to publically redistribute the sources if
they are publically redistributing the binaries. Therefore this entire
discussion is pointless and can end here, since there is no GPL violation,
only nitpicking about whether or not we are providing a valid written offer.
Mirrors which are concerned about this should write such a written
offer and put it in their .message file in the top level of their debian
archive (I see no reason why such an offer would take more than 3-4 lines).
>From the GPL:
3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections
1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
customarily used for software interchange; or,
c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is
allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you
received the program in object code or executable form with such
an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
--
Robert Woodcock - rcw@debian.org
"Unix and C are the ultimate computer viruses" -- Richard Gabriel
Reply to: