On Wed, 1 Dec 1999, Seth David Schoen wrote: > Depends on how that's accomplished. If it's a license for the entire > distribution as a whole, it should be possible. That's what I was > assuming: a EULA for the distribution.
In short, you can't do that. You can't circumvent the provisions of the GPL just by saying that your license applies to the distribution as a whole, rather than any specific part. Section 6 of the GPL overrides that, by specifying that "you may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." Preventing them from using or distributing the GPL software for any purpose, including that which you deem morally bankrupt, is against the rules. Section 6 also specifies that the recipient of a GPL program receives their license for that program from the original licensor. Unless that entity is willing to go along with your desire to restrict the use of the software, your restrictions would (again) be void. You can call your restrictions simply restrictions on the distribution as a whole, but the fact remains that they are also restrictions on the further redistribution of the GPL-covered software, which is expressly forbidden. The only thing you could do would be to restrict the use of the distribution as you have laid it out - for example the installer, by making it non-GPL. But the components that make up the system are untouchable.
