@ 20/05/2004 10:46 : wrote Danilo Piazzalunga :
Hello, Sorry if this is not quite in-topic for debian-legal. I run into E4[1], a collection of Matlab functions, distributed under the GPL. However, the software can be only downloaded as a zip file protected by a password, which you can get only by contacting the authors: this effectively equals to requiring registration of the software. *snip* Apparently, this is in contrast with the GPL (see [2]). I'd just like to be sure before (politely) informing the authors of this. Best Regards, Danilo
I don't think it's in contrast with the GPL. You are required to register to get the software _from_ _their_ _page_. Once you got it, you can do whatever the GPL permits you to do (including putting the -- possibly modified -- sources and binaries in ftp.debian.org, and no one that gets it from f.d.o needs no password or registration.
Now, if they try to impinge you other restrictions when you ask for the password, *then* the software is _undistributable_ (invalid license = GPL + additional restrictions = undistributable)
-- br,M