As a newbie to the intricacies of GPL I wanted to know if someone could clarify the following hypothetical questions for me.
1. Who is responsible for supplying source code for an application, which has been developed for a client using GPL code? I know I would need to release the binary to the client with source, but what about request from others like the original author of the GPL code. Would I forward these request to the client or would I have to support any request myself?
2. How would the scenario above be affected by an NDA? If the client releases a binary only of the application where does this leave me.
Thanks,
David
- Who is responsible for supplying source code for an application,
which has been developed for a client using GPL code? I know I would need to release the binary to the client with source, but what about request from others like the original author of the GPL code. Would I forward these request to the client or would I have to support any request myself?
If you release source code to your recipients, you have no other duties, according to point 3.a . Nodoby can legally ask anything.
- How would the scenario above be affected by an NDA?
It depends on what the NDA is. Who signed it, and what subject matter cannot be disclosed according to the agreement.
If the client releases a binary only of the application where does this leave me.
If your client is not the sole copyright holder on the package, he must follow license terms of the software it's not the copyright holder of. If it received it under GPL, the GPL must be obeyed. Otherwise, your client is in violation of copyright law. (client is assumed to be a company, hence "it").
/alessandro
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:33:32 +0100 David Watson dwatson@mpc-data.co.uk wrote:
As a newbie to the intricacies of GPL I wanted to know if someone could clarify the following hypothetical questions for me.
- Who is responsible for supplying source code for an application,
which has been developed for a client using GPL code?
The copyright holder
I know I would need to release the binary to the client with source, but what about request from others like the original author of the GPL code. Would I forward these request to the client or would I have to support any request myself?
If you wrote a derivate work using GPL'ed code you are compelled to offer source code, as stated in section 3:
---------- 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) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.) ----------
- How would the scenario above be affected by an NDA? If the client
releases a binary only of the application where does this leave me.
if the client is the copyright holder, he must release source code if it's a derivate work. If you hold copyright on the software, you cannot have a NDA and GPL derived code, as it makes no sense: you are basically promising not to disclose someone else's source...
hope this helps cheers paolino
Paolo Gianrossi wrote:
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:33:32 +0100 David Watson dwatson@mpc-data.co.uk wrote:
As a newbie to the intricacies of GPL I wanted to know if someone could clarify the following hypothetical questions for me.
- Who is responsible for supplying source code for an application,
which has been developed for a client using GPL code?
The copyright holder
No, those who distibute binaries. The (only) copyright holder isn't bound by the GPL at all since he's the license giver, not taker. (Of course, he may be bound by contract to deliver source and binaries.)
IANAL. Frank