Quoting [EMAIL PROTECTED] ([EMAIL PROTECTED]): > There seemed to be a great debate a few years back regarding whether a company > could augment GPL software for its own, private use and never release any > modified sources. The general consensus from googling around seems to be: yes, > GPL does allow that (doesn't bode well for dual licensing which relies on the > viral, er, reciprocal qualities of GPL, especially since the majority of > software development occurs within private company use...)
Never mind "consensus"; the plain language of GPLv2's clauses 2 and 3 states that the copyleft obligation exists only if one distributes the covered work (or derivatives). That's exactly the way it's designed to work. What you do with a consenting GPLed codebase behind closed doors is a private matter. ;-> > For example, Trolltech seems to take a severe view of distribution in GPL, > possibly because their old QPL explicitly disallows internal distribution > without opening the code. > > See http://www.trolltech.com/developer/faqs/license_gpl.html#q112. I suspect that that page's legal interpretation is somewhat incorrect. It claims that all of the following constitute "distribution" within the meaning of the GNU GPL: o "subsidiaries": Debatable, as they are probably part of the same legal entity. o "other divisions": Ditto. o "employees for their personal computers": Sounds correct (to me), as the employee's home PC or personally-owned machine is in a legal sense external to the company. o "new owners": Owners of the firm in their company capacity? If so, that sounds doubtful, as the firm has a continous interest, or at least a successor entity. o "consultants": Within the scope of their company work, they strike me as constructively part of the company. If you want a definitive answer as to what in the eyes of the law constitutes "distribution", you'll have to arrange a test case. Have fun! Until then, I think the concept's really not that unclear in context. -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3
