It's legal...Not according to what RedHat are saying. They say you must change the two files first:
http://www.redhat.com/about/corporate/trademark/guidelines/page6.html
See item "D":
*D.* You must modify the files identified as REDHAT-LOGOS and ANACONDA-IMAGES so as to remove all use of images containing the "Red Hat" trademark or Red Hat's Shadow Man logo. Note that mere deletion of these files may corrupt the software.
The title of the page is "Guidelines For Marketing Software Products Containing Unmodified Red Hat® Linux® Software", but what falls under "Marketing"? Is what Ira is doing, giving his customers a copy as part of a vendor-client relationship, considered marketing?
people are just think that it's proprietery since it consts money and isn't on the RH web site. However, being legal to distribuite (as the GPL promises) doesn't mean RH has any obligation to distribute. It chose to distribute to RHN subscribers only.I have no beaf with that.
AFAIK, All the stuff there is GPLed, including the distro as a whole (compilation) - that's what it says on the RH web site.Well, it's lieing. One of the things the GPL allows you to do is to distribute unmodified versions. If they require me to change the image before redistributing, they cannot claim that the image is under the GPL. That does not make every single piece of software on that CD free software. It's just that noone can claim the colleciton called the CD image is free. To quote the GPL:
6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein. You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to this License.
And also:
7. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues), conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not excuse you from the conditions of this License.
GiladYou and me specifically had this discussion before. The only reason I'm repeating this is for the sake of Linux-IL subscribers. So, for the record:
* I think RedHat created a brand for themselves, and I think it's
their right to make money from that brand. In particular, I have
no beaf with them saying "This is our distro (Advanced Server),
and that's what we call RedHat, and nothing else can be called
that". They even have the right to define the term to include the
support, making it illegal to call anything not including the
support "RedHat AS".
* All legal interpretations I have found, including consulting a
lawyer, show that some of the guidlines provided in the link above
go beyond what the Trademark law allows RedHat to demand.
* RedHat is now asking you to agree to an EULA, which to me suggests
that they are well aware of the point above, and would like to
force it down your throat anyways.
* RedHat started the "Fedora" initiative. At first I welcomed it. I
figured they will now have their "Advanced Server" mode, where
they want to make money from their name (as I have written above -
I have no beaf with that), and their community distro, which will
be free, Free and freE. Then I found out that their Fedora
guidelines are identical, and they don't even own the Fedora
trademark! This, to me, says that they have no intention of
letting Fedora be free.
* When burning CDs for the latest Haifux instaparty, Hamakor almost
fell to violating RedHat's trademark policy. As it is, the only
reason we did not violate is was because this was an NPO - a
company sponsoring those very same CDs WOULD be violating the
trademark guidelines. My personal conclusion was to not sponsor
any more RedHat CDs in any way.It all boils down to this - it may still be free, for some strange definition of "free", but it is no longer any fun whats'oever. I'll do it for money, but I'll be damned if I'll touch it of my own accord.
Shachar
-- Shachar Shemesh Lingnu Open Systems Consulting http://www.lingnu.com/
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