I have looke hard, but failed to find any resource that clearly explains the implications of the GPL for a hosted web service. Can anyone help?
Simple example: say I wrote a PHP application to work out an individual's life expectancy, based upon some inputs from the user, and lots of clever computation - some my own code, but including one or more GPL-licensed components. As I understand the GPL, if I only ever use this on my own, local, PCs, then there is no obligation to release the code to anyone. I could make money from premium-rate phone calls where the customer told me their details, I plugged them into the system, and read them back the answer. The answer might draw on some clever techniques in code that is subject to the GPL. But because I am selling a service and not releasing the software, I presume I would be under no obligation to release the code. At the other end of the spectrum, if I wanted to distribute the software for users to run on their own, local, PCs - then the GPL seems clear: anyone who gets the application must also get the source code, and be free to distribute it to others on the same terms. (So whilst I could try to charge $500, the first purchaser could offer it to others for nothing as long as they included the source code). But how do I stand if I load the application onto "my" web server (perhaps I could get an insurance company to pay me for the application to be accessed via their website as a way of attracting new customers)? Does the very act of loading the code onto any webserver constitute "releasing" the software? (In this case, I would have to release the code to anyone who asked, whether it was server-side or client-side). Or is it only the act of transmitting it to a user's PC that is "releasing"? In this case, would a purely PHP application escape the need to provide code on the basis that the GPL-licensed PHP is server- side and is never "released "- only the consequent HTM. And would the position be different for an application loaded by me onto a webserver hosting a client's domain but managed by me (ie it was me doing the uploading so that I never had to "release" the code to the client)? John Geddes England ************************** Extract from GPL FAQ: "an organization can [...] use it internally without ever releasing it outside the organization. But if you release the modified version to the public in some way ..." _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss