On Tue, Nov 08, 2005 at 02:51:07PM +0100, Jan Lübbe wrote: > Am Dienstag, den 08.11.2005, 10:37 -0200 schrieb > cascardo@minaslivre.org: > > Hello, > > > > I have asked some CDs from Ubuntu and they have sent me their > > Debian-based distro for free (as in free beer). However, they contain > > GPL-licensed software, including dpkg, but not their sources. I also > > couldn't find any written offer for them in my mail package. Should I > > consider this an implicit offer valid for three years after receiving > > the package? Should I be able to ask them for the sources two years > > from now, considering I asked for the package in the last six months? > > > > Or should I consider this a GPL violation? Then, I hope dpkg copyright > > holders inforce their copyright. > > On http://www.ubuntulinux.org/support/documentation/faq/shipit/ you can > read: > > Can You Send me Source CDs? > We do not normally distribute source CDs and you cannot order them through > shipit. That said, in order to comply with the GPL, we are happy to distribute > source code on CD to anybody we give a binary CD. More information is written > in fine print on the back of each CD. Source for everything on the CD is always > available at http://archive.ubuntu.com or can be ordered from Canonical for the > cost of the media plus shipping. > > -- > Jan Lübbe <jluebbe@lasnet.de> http://sicherheitsschwankung.de > gpg-key 1024D/D8480F2E 2002-03-20 > fingerprint 1B25 F91F 9E7B 5D4F 1282 02D6 8A83 8BE4 D848 0F2E > Thanks for the answer. I am subscribed to the list. Would have told otherwise. Congratulations to Ubuntu. I just hope they are aware that they should distribute sources for three years after the last distribution and that distributing the sources along with the binaries is safer. And that allows me to redistribute the binaries as long as I don't do it commercially. I should advise my friends to ask the sources to Ubuntu in case they want them. What do you people in debian-legal think about people who distribute ISO images on their websites but no ISO with sources nor a written promise? Should we consider there is an implicit offer and just ask for the sources? -- Thadeu Cascardo
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