On Thursday 24 July 2008 16:58:04 Sandip Bhattacharya wrote: > +++ Raj Mathur [22/07/08 18:46 +0530]: > >On Tuesday 22 Jul 2008, Smruti wrote: > >> 1. Is it legal for someone to distribute a Redhat Enterprise Linux > >> copy that he bought from Redhat without any Redhat agreement or > >> restrictions? If yes, than again I get back to my old question which > >> is how will he get the distro. > > > >IANAL, but it's legal to re-distribute RHEL since RH relies on trademark > >rather than copyright to protect its operating systems. So you can > >re-distribute it, but your recipient can't use it since s/he would be > >violating Red Hat's trademarks by doing so. > > > >Perhaps someone from RH on this list could give us accurate information? > > Right, I would also like to know, that since the application themselves > are GPLed, is using the trademark argument a mechanism to subvert > the rights given in the licence itself? > > I think the Debian folks had a long talk with the Firefox people on > something similar before going the whole Iceweasel way. > > - Sandip
Based on this thread's discussion I asked the RH India spokesperson some questions. Following are the details: ------------------------------- Q: Although we’re aware of free (as in beer) RHEL alternatives like CentOS, what if I opt to use RHEL without buying a subscription? Is that 'legally' possible? A: RHEL is open source software governed by GPL licensing. As per the GPL terms it is freely available on the Internet for download and use. Since this would be free download without subscription, it would not cover any support, updates or any of the benefits that a subscription would entitle. Once the subscription period ends, unless it is renewed again, the service support ceases. However, the customer can still continue using the product. One thing I’d like to bring fourth for subscribers is that Red Hat extends the Red Hat Open Source Assurance program, which safeguards customers who are developing and deploying open source solutions from legal harm. You can get more information about the purchase and usage of the RHEL subscription for India in Section 3.1 and Section 5 of the Enterprise Agreement [www.redhat.com/licenses/Enterprise_Agr_India.pdf]. Q. Let’s assume I’ve been an RHEL subscriber. I then choose to discontinue it, well aware that I won’t get security updates (having already made up my mind to get the security updates from CentOS repositories). So, as per you, I can still keep RHEL on the system? A: Yes, this is one of the important benefits to the customer where he can continue using RHEL but, at the same time, he would lose the advantage of Red Hat support ecosystem. Q. I understand that RH artwork and logos are trademarked by Red Hat Inc. Does that stop me from freely sharing a copy with my friends like I do in the case of Fedora? A: The Red Hat artwork and logo are trademarked and cannot be used freely. Yes, the code can be shared, but it cannot be duplicated with the Red Hat logo. Q. Can you elaborate on the trademark policies in laymen’s terms? Essentially, what are the dos and don’ts? A: The trademark and logo are completely owned by Red Hat and any use would be illegal. ------------------------ --Atanu _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org/
