On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:07:12PM +0000, David Claughton wrote: [...] > It is always possible to modify free software in ways that effectively > make it non-free - for example if you remove all the copyright > statements from a BSD covered program. [...]
This is untrue, at least for modern 3-clause BSD[*] and its derivatives. I can remove the copyright statements from any BSD-licensed software I like, as long as I don't *redistribute* it in that form. By my reading, licenses like BSD or (classic) GPL place no restrictions on use, even of modified versions. The AGPL goes a great deal further than this, by *requiring* you to become a distributor of software you use, even if you only do something so simple as make a minor modification to an AGPL-covered work providing a network service. [* And even the old advertising clause, generally deemed DFSG-compliant, only adds restrictions on what you have to include in your advertising materials *if* you choose to have any--you can still choose not to have advertising materials for a derivative work of classic BSD software.] -- { IRL(Jeremy_Stanley); PGP(9E8DFF2E4F5995F8FEADDC5829ABF7441FB84657); SMTP(fu...@yuggoth.org); IRC(fu...@irc.yuggoth.org#ccl); ICQ(114362511); AIM(dreadazathoth); YAHOO(crawlingchaoslabs); FINGER(fu...@yuggoth.org); MUD(fu...@katarsis.mudpy.org:6669); WWW(http://fungi.yuggoth.org/); } -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org