2002-10-31-13:53:24 Sean 'Shaleh' Perry: > right. Now, the GPL *only* applies to the recipient of a binary. If that > binary never leaves my company no one outside my company has the right to the > source code.
But, if I'm obliged to distribute my in-house app in-house with an open source license slathered over it, anyone who does receive it (in-house) is completely legally free to post it to the world. If Berkeley DB came under an open source license, I'd be free to build things that use it under absolutely any license I like, and as long as I never published them outside my organization there'd be no constraints on my use. So I could build something that used Berkeley DB, my something could be strictly internal-use-only company proprietary, and there'd be no conflict. Berkeley DB's redefinition of "redistribute" to include copying within an organization has made their license no longer satisfactorily "Open Source" for my tastes; they're reserving the right to acceptable dictate use within a single organization. But if the Open Source Definition accepts SleepyCat's new game, I suppose I need to find a new word for what I mean. Berkeley DB ain't it, whatever it is. -Bennett
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