[Sugar-devel] [IAEP] [SLOBS] GPL non compliance?

[Jonas Smedegaard]

Hi Sugar folks,

[cutting off a few recipients I knwo is subscribed to lists]

On 11-04-26 at 12:57pm, Bernie Innocenti wrote:
> On Tue, 2011-04-26 at 10:26 -0400, Martin Langhoff wrote:
> 
> > > useless because children can install absolutely no additional 
> > > software packages (they can't do "yum install").
> > 
> > Um - again you _can_ install sw in your homedir. Not as practical 
> > but possible.
> 
> It would be quite painful for users.

Correct. Due to design of XO hardware, not licensing of Sugar software.

[snip]

> The GPL (both v2 and v3) requires that users be given the full source 
> code in its *preferred* form for making modifications to it. The GPLv3 
> additionally requires that users be given the means to install and run 
> modified versions. Quoting the license directly:
> 
>   “Installation Information” for a User Product means any methods, 
>   procedures, authorization keys, or other information required to 
>   install and execute modified versions of a covered work in that User 
>   Product from a modified version of its Corresponding Source. The 
>   information must suffice to ensure that the continued functioning of 
>   the modified object code is in no case prevented or interfered with 
>   solely because modification has been made.
> 
> My feeling is that, in order to be in compliance, deployments would 
> have to provide detailed instructions for installing Sugar in the 
> user's home... or simply give them root access.
> 
> Note that Sugar updating its license would simply add yet another 
> violation to the existing ones: there are currently between 40 and 60 
> packages covered by the GPLv3 in a typical OLPC OS image, and the 
> number is going to increase further when we switch to Fedora 14.

...but it is _Sugar_, not the XO hardware, that is GPL licensed.

So how about this "detailed" instruction:

  1) Buy a non-locked computer
  2) Copy everything over to that other machine
  3) Exercise all your rights there

Et voilá, GPLv3 not violated.


 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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