Re: Summary : ocaml, QPL and the DFSG.

[Michael Poole <mdpoole@troilus.org>]

Matthew Garrett writes:

> Michael Poole <mdpoole@troilus.org> wrote:
>
>>The QPL doesn't release you from the obligation to provide changes to
>>the author if you have since stopped distributing the software (for
>>whatever reason).  That clause applies to *any* time at which the code
>>is not available to the general public.  It would be plausible for an
>>SCO or Microsoft to demand that a Debian package maintainer provide a
>>three-year-old version of a package because Debian users downloaded
>>that modified version.
>
> I'm not convinced that applies. The clase is "These items, when
> distributed, are subject to the following requirements" - what does
> "when distributed" mean? At the point at which they are distributed? If
> distributed once, these must always occur? 6a and 6b sound like they
> only apply at the time of distribution.

So could you satisfy the QPL's requirements by making the modified
source code available once a binary download starts, and deleting it
as soon as that download completes?

At some point a judge will look at intent of 6c, and at that point it
becomes a lawyerbomb, since "when" can mean either "at the time of" or
"once."

Michael