Netfilter gets a GPL-enforcement injunction

Posted Apr 16, 2004 11:44 UTC (Fri) by dwalters (subscriber, #4207) [Link]

> So, in fact, you do have to give the code to anyone who asks for it.

See the official GPL FAQ on this subject here. It says that "Valid for any third party" means that anyone who has the offer is entitled to take you up on it. IANAL, but I think this means that only those in possession of the copy (and therefore also the written offer) are entitled to ask for the source code.

This requirement only holds if you did not ship the source code with the product. The reason for this requirement, by the way, is so 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 GPL FAQ puts it like this: "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."

I recommend everyone who isn't a lawyer, but who has any dealings with the GPL, to read the FAQ in full. If you think you already know it all, I challenge you to take the official GPL quiz here.

Posted Apr 16, 2004 11:57 UTC (Fri) by ballombe (subscriber, #9523) [Link]

Contrariwise, GPL says 'provided that you also do _one_ of the following:'

You may choose to redistribute under the term of alternative 3a) instead.

a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections
1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange;

For example, by bundling a source CD-ROM together with the hardware.
Given that most hardware come already with a CD-ROM, this is not a huge
burden.

Posted Apr 16, 2004 23:35 UTC (Fri) by mbp (guest, #2737) [Link]

You are not *required* to give the source to anyone who asks for it, because you can avoid that obligation by giving source directly to people who get the binaries.

Note that clause 3 says "do *one* of the following" things.