On Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:41:21 -0700, <i...@bandshed.net> wrote:
but I was under the impression that any derived work could be licensed outside of the GPL provided the source code of the derived work was made available upon request.
You may be confused with the "binary redistribution" clause of the GPLv2, which (simplified) allows you to redistribute it in binary form, provided you give or promise to give the source code. However they still have the rights to redistribute it themselves and creating other derived copies with the source code you provide. That doesn't mean you are surrendering the GPL. You are using a clause from the GPL, but your licensees are automatically given the same rights you were given, the moment they receive the copy, under the terms of the GPL. So, it looks like you may go away from the GPL, but actually your users are automatically covered by the GPL as well.
The 'source code' is the ISO image
In the GPL, "source code" means "the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it", typically the program in, say, C, Python or whatever language the original author used to create it. So, an ISO image for a binary-based distribution is never source code.
Regardless the icluded closed source content falls outside of the GPL and there is no law forbidding me to distribute it on an ISO of my making providing I have the permission of the developers which I do.
Copyright law forbids you, though, to restrict your users to redistribute verbatim copies of GPL software in your distribution. The question is: are you? All of the above doesn't imply you are actually violating the terms of the GPL. I'm just explaining what the license says. I do think, however, that you are in a gray area, but you may step out of the gray area with some work. For example, check how the Flash player installation works in Debian (don't you love source code?) First, make a fully compliant GPL distro without non-GPL demos. This will help your distro to be freely redistributable. Second, include a repository with packages that automatize the download, installation and full integration of commercial demos into your distro. Third, make sure you provide the source code yourself for the versions you are providing. Best "IANAL" regards. :-) -- Octavio. _______________________________________________ Cinelerra mailing list Cinelerra@skolelinux.no https://init.linpro.no/mailman/skolelinux.no/listinfo/cinelerra
