🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <PETRILLI.91Jun10202547@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu> petrilli@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chris Petrilli) writes:

   Russ Nelson writes:

      Kurt Baudendistel writes:

         Like anything else, once you get a system in place, everybody
         tries to beat it. So consider this scenario,

           Company X modifies the copylefted program BUG and wants to
           sell it. They do, for a reasonable price for that product,
           including warranty protection.  They abide by the copyleft and
           offer to send source code for the product if you ask for it.

           However, X voids your warranty on BUG if you actually do get
           the source code from them.

         What do you think of this?

      Not a thing wrong with it.  The GPL places no requirement for a
      warranty upon anyone.

   I disagree.. the GPL says you may not charge more than a reasonable
   distribution fee, except for warantee, etc...  No matter what, you
   must make source code available.  If you void the warantee for which
   you have charged, by fulfilling the GPL, then you have in my opinion,
   voided the contract and should return the money, for you are not
   providing anything for what you are charging, and therefore have
   charged for the source code or program itself, dpending on your
   perspective.  Definately a NONO.

The relevant section would seem to be:

    3.b) accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
    years, to give any third party free (except for a nominal charge
    for the cost of distribution) a complete machine-readable copy of the
    corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of
    Paragraphs 1 and 2 above; or,

It seems, then, that the company is not providing the source code
"free"; instead it is essentially asking people to give back their
warranty.  I would say, then, that if that company only offers the
software with a warranty, that you are correct.

--
--russ <nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu> I'm proud to be a humble Quaker.
Clear cutting is criminal, spiking trees is criminal, and using hyperbole of
this magnitude in a serious discussion is criminal.  -- Irv Chidsey