New Open Source License: Single Supplier Open Source License

Rahul Siddharthan rsidd at online.fr
Sun Jan 25 12:26:03 PST 2004


> While it's probably low risk to assume that some private derivatives
> are not subject to the "all third parties" clause,

I think I see your confusion: that clause says if you distribute it to
anyone else, you must license it to all third parties.  That means you
cannot stop it from being redistributed -- whoever receives it has
your permission to pass it on further under the GPL.  It does not mean
that you must hand out a copy to whoever asks for it, or that anyone
in the world can demand source code from you.

Read the FAQ, in particular
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#TheGPLSaysModifiedVersions
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLRequireAvailabilityToPublic

You may say "that's the FSF's interpretation", but it's been gone over
by their lawyers, and it's totally obvious you're not a lawyer, so
either believe the FSF or find a lawyer who supports your
interpretations.

Rahul


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