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Talk:FAQ Update

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Revision as of 01:26, 14 March 2006; view current revision
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This page seems to be a dump of every question from the original FAQ. Would it not make sense to flag the ones whose answers had been changed, for ease of review? --gerv

We used the original GPL FAQ as a starting point to make it easier to update the whole document for GPLv3. You can find answers that have changed by reviewing all of the diffs for the page. More obvious flags for those answers would definitely be helpful for readers, though. Did you have any particular ideas in mind? --brett 20:26, 13 March 2006 (EST)

I'm a little unclear on the upgrade path from GPLv2 to GPLv3. I started writing a FAQ entry dealing with the issue and took a shot at answering it. Is this answer accurate? Should this be added to the FAQ?

Q. I have a product that is currently licensed as "GPLv2, or higher--your choice." I am not the original copyright holder and I am not able to change the license. Am I allowed to, for example, statically link to an ASL 2.0 library in my program? This action is NOT allowed by the GPLv2, but IS allowed by the GPLv3.

A. Yes, this is allowed. As long as you are in compliance with GPLv2 OR GPLv3 (or possibly any future version) then you are ok. If the receiver of the program chooses to redistribute the program in compliance with the GPLv2, then they may remove the code that links to the ASL 2.0 library and redistribute to their heart's content (and license will still be "GPLv2 or higher").

For the same situation, what are the implementation details? I assume you would still distribute a LICENSE file containing the GPLv2. Would you also need to include another license file containing GPLv3? Should you state which parts of your code are only valid under GPLv3?

I've added basic information in a new question in the FAQ. I'll try to get the implementation details soon, too. --brett 17:22, 21 January 2006 (EST)

Q. If a company distributes software licensed with GPL as a service can they require me to be auditted and report to them how many CPUs I'll run that software on, terminating my contract if I run it on more CPUs without paying them extra? [Isn't that a restriction on use?] ---t 8:43 3 March 2006

Q. Suppose a company would like to run an "update server" to which customers subscribe. They will install the client-side component of that server on my machine but deny this counts as distribution of that client and forbid me from reverse engineering the client or `rebroadcasting' the updates within my company. (The update client is not, let's assume, covered by the GPL.) The only way I can get timely updates to GPL'ed software from this company is to subscribe and the subscription contract requires that I do not directly use their update feed on any CPU without telling them and paying them more -- if I don't do that they'll terminate my contract. Is this permitted? ---t 8:43 3 March 2006

Q. Can I sell of some of my own rights under the GPL? A company that does custom improvement of GPL'ed software has a novel twist: they invite customers to bind the company (rather than the other way around) in a non-disclosure agreement which forbids the company from distributing the custom improvements to any but the particular customer. This is good for the customer if the source for the new code contains some of the customer's secrets but can the service provider really bind itself that way or are such contracts bogus? ---t 8:43 3 March 2006

Q. A company is in the business of providing binary copies of GPL software as a service. Of course they make source code available however they keep secret their infrastructure for turning the big pile of raw source into the large system of binaries they distribute. As a *practical* matter I can't rebuild their distribution and I have no clear reason to believe that the source actually corresponds to the binaries I'm getting. Is this permitted? ---t 8:43 3 March 2006

Q. A company agrees to sell me conveniently packaged binaries of GPL'ed software but only on the condition that I enter a non-compete agreement: I may not resell those binaries to others in any way that impacts the provider's business. Is this permitted? ---t 8:43 3 March 2006


Q. What is a *good* business model for someone who would like to be in the business of providing binary distributions and updates for GPL'ed software? ---t 8:43 3 March 2006