GPL does not ask you to give up rights.
GPL does not ask you to give up rights.
Posted Mar 3, 2011 3:23 UTC (Thu) by JesseW (subscriber, #41816)In reply to: GPL does not ask you to give up rights. by jthill
Parent article: Red Hat's "obfuscated" kernel source
OK, I think we are coming to more of an understanding here. You are pointing out differences between two situations:
- Distributing software while relying on (one or more) GPL grants by other copyright holders (whether or not you also have some copyright interest in the software), and
- Distributing software for which you are the sole copyright holder.
You are claiming (correctly) that you can demand payment for permission to further distribute the software only in the 2nd case, not in the 1st. I agree.
You are claiming that demanding payment for further distribution is a "right" in both cases, which the GPL demands you "give up" in the 1st case. I disagree. I claim that, in the 1st case, you have no right (except for fair use) to distribute the software or permit further distribution (with or without payment). The GPL provides you the ability to distribute the software, but does not provide you the ability to prevent further distribution. You are giving up no right.
As for the Red Hat situation, I don't have a strong opinion one way or another. I tend to agree with the your analysis, since, as you pointed out, a RH subscriber loses nothing if they distribute the materials after their subscription expires.
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