[CLUE-Tech] GPL loopholes

[Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier]

On Tue, 2003-07-15 at 23:24, Angelo Bertolli wrote:
> Actually one thing I'm not clear on:  can a friend copy any GPL software 
> legally?  

Yes. 

> I always thought that it was legal to copy source, but not 
> necessarily binaries.  

That's incorrect. 

> And then there is the matter of Red Hat not 
> wanting others to distribute things with their logos and trademarks... 
> so is it legal to make a copy of a Red Hat distro?  If so, why do places 
> like cheapbytes.com have to change it to "Pink Tie"?

Because the GPL doesn't apply to trademarks and logos. It's perfectly
legal for me to make copies of Red Hat discs and give them away or even
sell them. 

Red Hat cannot restrict your rights to GPL'ed code, but they do not have
to allow you to use their name to distribute a product. The two issues
are quite separate -- and, in fact, Red Hat HAS to police the usage of
their trademark, or it can be "diluted" and they will lose the ability
to enforce it. 

Zonker
-- 
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
jzb at dissociatedpress.net
Aim: zonkerjoe
http://www.dissociatedpress.net