Re: [OT] open source distribution
On Wed, Aug 27, 2003 at 11:42:49AM -0400, Emma Jane Hogbin wrote:
> Hopefully a (quick) question...if I make a product which is open source I
> don't have to *distribute* the product, do I?
>
> Background: a potential client may or may not understand the benefits of
> open source work. If I make something for them which is licensed under
> GFL and uses other products, which I have written and are under the same
> license, is there any obligation on my part (or the client's part) to
> distribute the software? i.e. can something be open source but not
> available (for lack of a better term).
It depends on which particular open source license you use. Since this
is a Debian list I'll assume you're thinking first about the GPL. You
can get answers to a lot of questions of this sort about the GNU
licenses straight from the GNU web site.
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
Assuming you're wanting to use the GPL, the answer to your question is
"it depends". It's sort of a question of interpreting part of the GPL.
On the one hand, it doesn't require anybody to distribute software. On
the other hand, they don't want to consider something like using code on
public web site as "private" [1] - they consider that a special case.
Also be aware that code you write often falls under the ownership of
your employer as part of your contract, so you may not have a legitimate
say in what license it gets.
[1] http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#UnreleasedMods
--
Michael Heironimus
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