On Fri, Feb 27, 2004 at 04:15:20PM -0000, Robin Imrie wrote: > Dear Sir/Madam, > > We are about to start developing some software which will run on Linux. The > product which we sell to our customers will include the hardware, os (Linux) > and our software all pre-installed and ready to go. Any support would be > handled by us. If we were to install the parts of Debian Linux that we > required for our product what would the licensing issues be if any. i.e. > would we have to by a copy of Debian Linux for each unit we ship?
Debian GNU/Linux is free - it's impossible to buy a copy (you can only buy CDs at various distributors if you don't want to download Deian GNU/Linux from the Internet). You can use, copy and redistribute Debian GNU/Linux as often as you want. The only restiction is that several programs inside Debian GNU/Linux (including the Linux kernel) require that if you ship binaries for these programs, you have to give the people you give/sell the binaries the complete source code of the program including the right to modify and/or redistribute this software. Note that this only affects these programs, it doesn't affect your own applications. The only exception of the above are some programs in the non-free part of the Debian ftp archive that e.g. don't allow redistribution. > Regards > > Robin Imrie cu Adrian -- "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed