From hacker@gnu-designs.com Mon Feb 4 23:47:23 2002 Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 23:34:15 -0800 (PST) From: David A. Desrosiers To: James Fisher Subject: In reference to my phone call on 1/18/2002 In speaking to you on the telephone the afternoon of Friday January 18th, you indicated that I should go re-read the GPL, which I have, and which has now clarified and justified my original reason for calling you to request the source code to the GPL application you are distributing through Mercury Guide which is based fully on Plucker source code. You can find the GPL at the following URL for reference: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html As the GPL states, paragraph 4 of the Preamble: "For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights." Consider my verbal call to you on Friday January 18th as my first request for the sources which produced the binaries you are distributing through Mercury Guide as part of your "vertical solution". Consider this email my second request. Just to make sure we're on level ground, I have left a message with the Free Software Foundation in an effort to clarify exactly what the particulars of the following clauses in the GPL are. Section 3 of the GPL clearly states: 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following: * a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or, * b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of this License. * c) If the modified program normally reads commands interactively when run, you must cause it, when started running for such interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on the Program is not required to print an announcement.) The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a special exception, the source code distributed need not include anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component itself accompanies the executable. If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent access to copy the source code from the same place counts as distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not compelled to copy the source along with the object code. Read that last paragraph again. To clarify my original request: You have distributed binaries based on modified sources which were covered under the GPL, and have not provided any facilities to download the sources which created *THOSE* binaries. I have requested those sources verbally on 1/18/2002, which you denied, and am now requesting them in written format, as stated in the GPL. Section 5: 5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying the Program or works based on it. To clarify this, you do not have to use GPL sources, you are free to write an equivalent replacement application on your own, however, your use of those GPL sources means that you have agreed to abide by the license which binds those sources, in full. You may not "relicense" those sources, nor are you allowed to distribute binaries created from them to the public, without distributing the sources. From Section 6: "..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." By taking sources covered under the GPL, producing and distributing binaries based on it, and denying access to the sources you have modified to create those binaries, you are imposing further restrictions on the existing GPL license which binds those sources. This is not allowed. From Section 7: "..If you cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you may not distribute the Program at all." You have distributed a binary application to the public, which is based on the GPL, and sources covered under the GPL. I have not, as yet, been able to find a link on your three websites to download these sources. If I am in error, please point me to the publically accessible download URL. From Section 10: "..If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the author to ask for permission." I do not recall any such message being sent to the copyright holders of the GPL source code you have downloaded freely, modified, and distributed as part of your enterprise solution. If I have missed that request for permission, please feel free to forward a copy of that to me, so I can read it for myself. I do not hold the copyright to Plucker, but if it were going to be relicensed or if permission was asked, I would have heard about it, being a core Plucker team member. The GNU Foundation has also set up a FAQ, or Frequently Asked Questions which explains some of the somewhat confusing portions of the licensing terms of the GPL and LGPL. You can find that page at the following URL: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html Let's walk through some of the questions found there: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DistributeExtendedBinary ----------------------------------------------------------------- "I want to distribute an extended version of a GPL-covered program in binary form. Is it enough to distribute the source for the original version?" No, you must supply the source code that corresponds to the binary. Corresponding source means the source from which users can rebuild the same binary. Part of the idea of free software is that users should have access to the source code for *the programs they use*. Those using your version should have access to the source code for your version. A major goal of the GPL is to build up the Free World by making sure that improvement to a free program are themselves free. If you release an improved version of a GPL-covered program, you must release the improved source code under the GPL. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DistributingSourceIsInconvenient ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I want to distribute binaries, but distributing complete source is inconvenient. How about if I give users the diffs from the current FSF version along with the binaries, and suggest they get the base source from the FSF?" This is a well-meaning request, but this method of providing the source doesn't really do the job. A user that wants the source a year from now may be unable to get the proper version from the FSF at that time. We might have a newer version, but the same diffs probably won't work with that version. So you need to provide complete sources, not just diffs, with the binaries. So, as I have suggested, the source to the binaries you have *ALREADY DISTRIBUTED* must be made available. As stated earlier, please consider this my formal, written request for access to those sources which correspond to version "1.1.12" of Bluefish's Palm client application and associated parser modifications, which is based fully on Plucker sources covered under the GPL. David A. Desrosiers Plucker Core Developer desrod@plkr.org