webferret

[Michael Haney]

On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 11:32 PM, Florian Diesch <diesch at spamfence.net>
> If your code uses code that is licensed to you under GPL you are not
> allowed to release your code under any other license.
>

You are correct.  That is a violation of the GPL and it has already
been challenged and upheld in court;
http://www.businessreviewonline.com/os/archives/2006/03/gpl_gets_court.html

Not only in the US but in France; http://lwn.net/Articles/353923/
and Germany more than once;
http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=2007072513105421

> As it doesn't make much sense to distribute software under GPL
> and a much more restrictive license that doesn't give any benefits to
> the user I suspect that they are using GPL'ed code and try to get away
> with this dual-licensing.
>

Once distributed under the GPL you cannot under the rules of the
license then apply another more restrictive license to the software
for others.  This is to keep things fair for everyone and to prevent
abuse.

I also remember a case from a year to two ago concerning BusyBox and
Verizon.  From what I looked up Verizon used the BusyBox code but
failed to follow the obligations of the GPL license to release the
modified source code they used for their FiOS set-top boxes.

I also understand that any software developed using GPLed development
tools (gcc, Perl, etc.) cannot be licensed under anything else but the
GPL because that software may use libraries which are under the GPL.
Thus, it is not legal to use GPLed code in software that's under a
restricted license.

There is NOTHING in the GPL license that says the software must be
free, as in beer, but it must be free or open, as in freedom.  This is
how Xandros gets away with selling their Linux distro without giving
away a free version, because they offer the source code for download
free of charge to comply with the GPL.  Minus the code for any of the
non-GPL software they include for DVD and MP3 playback and such.

-- 
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
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