On Tue, 2009-03-17 at 13:43 +0100, Stefan Seifert wrote: > On Tuesday 17 March 2009 13:34:19 Curtis Olson wrote: > > Here's a question: Does a 3rd party have the > > right to ask for the modified source code, even if none of the entities > > receiving the modified program don't care to ask for the source code? > > In short: no. The GPL doesn't require any rights for the whole world, but > just > for the users. This makes the GPL a perfectly acceptable license even for > work with only one intended customer. > > Stefan
Stefan's answer would allow company "A" to restrict the potential customer's freedom to redistribute flightgear. Anticipated and specifically addressed in GPL v2 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#WhatDoesWrittenOfferValid Quote: What does “written offer valid for any third party” mean in GPLv2? Does that mean everyone in the world can get the source to any GPL'ed program no matter what? If you choose to provide source through a written offer, then anybody who requests the source from you is entitled to receive it. If you commercially distribute binaries not accompanied with source code, the GPL says you must provide a written offer to distribute the source code later. When users non-commercially redistribute the binaries they received from you, they must pass along a copy of this written offer. This means that people who did not get the binaries directly from you can still receive copies of the source code, along with the written offer. The reason we require the offer to be valid for any third party is so that people who receive the binaries indirectly in that way can order the source code from you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apps built with the Adobe(R) Flex(R) framework and Flex Builder(TM) are powering Web 2.0 with engaging, cross-platform capabilities. Quickly and easily build your RIAs with Flex Builder, the Eclipse(TM)based development software that enables intelligent coding and step-through debugging. Download the free 60 day trial. http://p.sf.net/sfu/www-adobe-com _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel