sql-ledger may belong in non-free
I am not subscribed to this list. Please CC if you need me to reply.
I was reading through the Terms & Conditions[1] (henceforth Terms page) on the
and I am not sure that it conforms to the DFSG, specifically section 3. If
you look at the Terms page, you will notice that the section on "Extending
and Re-branding SQL-Ledger" indicates that the GPL only allow the derivative
work to be a "Larger Work" and that you cannot remove the SQL-Ledger logo as
a result.
First of all, the GPL doesn't seem to even contain the word "larger." Any
mention of a derivative work indicates that you can make any change. By their
interpretation, I think it is clear that I would not be able to take their
database schema and base a new software project on that unless I (A) included
all of the SQL-Ledger code in my project (cannot freely make modifications),
(B) changed the project's name, (C) maintain the SQL-Ledger logo (again,
cannot free make modification), and (D) advertise SQL-Ledger by including
"Powered by SQL-Ledger" in a subtitle for the program. (A) might be able to
be exchanged with having a project with more source code than SQL-Ledger in
order to make it a "larger work."
Also, on their website in the same section, they state, "If you do not want to
display the SQL-Ledger logo, the 'powered by', or the trademark and copyright
notice, you need to obtain explicit permission from DWS." This violates
section 7.
This info is not contained in the tarball of the distribution as far as I can
tell.
Of course, IANAL and may be entirely wrong about some or all of this
interpretation.
Thanks,
wt
[1]
http://www.sql-ledger.org/cgi-bin/nav.pl?page=misc/terms.html&title=Terms%20%26%20Conditions
--
Warren Turkal
Consultant, Penguin Techs
http://www.penguintechs.com/
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