On Thu, 2003-01-23 at 05:40, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > while i'm well aware that MP3 support wasn't included in > RH 8.0 due to licensing issues, how does that impact the > fact that you can download an MP3 plug-in from sites > like www.freshrpms.net?
Section 7 of the GPL contains this text: For example, if a patent license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the Program. The patent held by Thomas may infringe on the rights of some of the users who receive the software from Red Hat. They may be unable to use the software in all of the ways described by the GPL, while the GPL explicitly forbids distributing the software if the users do not get full rights. All of the common MP3 software for Unix platforms (libmpg123 and libmad) are GPL, unfortunately. If they were BSD licensed, then Red Hat may have been able to redistribute them under the license of Thomas which exempts Free Software developers. However, because the authors of the mp3 software chose a license (the GPL) which does not allow redistribution in locations where mp3 technology is patented, they have provided no valid license for redistribution. They are, therefore, the only persons who can legally distribute the software in those locations, and the users who receive the software receive no valid license for redistribution. In other areas of the world, where mp3 technology is not patented, the GPL is a valid license for redistribution. freshrpms.net is, I believe, in France, and I don't believe that mp3 tech is patented there. Therefore, it would be valid for them to distribute the mp3 software to French users. However, they have no license to distribute to American users, and are in violation of the GPL by doing so. -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=unsubscribe https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
