Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 10:36:35 +0000 From: "Aryeh Friedman" <aryeh.friedman@gmail.com> To: davids@webmaster.com Cc: "Freebsd-Chat@Freebsd. Org" <freebsd-chat@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: viral license free fork of freebsd Message-ID: <bef9a7920710050336s6d4e93ccsb4a8a7d54105848@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <MDEHLPKNGKAHNMBLJOLKIEIBHEAC.davids@webmaster.com> References: <bef9a7920710042203r33e4c23axf3629e1e6f30a042@mail.gmail.com> <MDEHLPKNGKAHNMBLJOLKIEIBHEAC.davids@webmaster.com>
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Thanks for not telling me anything I haven't known On 10/5/07, David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com> wrote: > > > I am intrested in putting together a version of FreeBSD (at least the > > non-ports portion) that is 100% viral license (gpl and lgpl [not > > techinically viral but I don't trust it]) free... where would be a > > good starting point on this project? > > The short answer is that you simply cannot do this. You cannot set the > licensing terms on code you did not write without a written relicensing > agreement from the original author, which you don't have. This is the law in > the United States and it's probably impossible for this or other reasons > elsewhere. > > If you merely distribute FreeBSD, you obtain *your* license to distribute > from the BSD license. However, you have no role whatsoever in the license > the recipients you distribute to get from the original authors (other than > making them lawful possessors of the code). And they don't need any license > to simply own the code or to use it. If they wish to modify it or distribute > it themselves, then they obtain whatever license each original author offers > from that author directly. You are not a *licensing* intermediary. > > You can certainly make modifications and contributions of your own and offer > them under any license you would like. But you cannot change the fact that > the original authors of all the pieces you are taking has offered them to > anyone who possesses them under a BSD license. Recipients still get those > BSD licenses and the BSD license prohibits you from removing the > notification that they do. (Though you can certainly add your own > notification that some parts are not offered under the BSD license.) > > I'd prefer not to pollute even the chat list with this, so if there's > anything you don't understand or that isn't clear, feel free to email me > personally first. If you still think I'm wrong after you hear my response, > then post to the list. There's just too much misinformation out there > already and this has been patiently explained dozens of times. > > DS > > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-chat@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-chat > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-chat-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >
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