Does linux use GPL or not??

[kmself at ix.netcom.com]

On Mon, Aug 07, 2000 at 09:57:48PM -0700, David Johnson wrote:
> On Mon, 07 Aug 2000, Kristiono Setyadi wrote:
> > On Mon, 7 Aug 2000, David Johnson wrote:

> > In some countries, the copyright is some of the most frequently violated.
> > Most of the microsoft (and other commercial software..) are pirated.
> > Have you heard about Linux pirated??
> 
> There is no point in pirating Linux. It is already free with no cost.
> There is nothing wrong with purchasing a $80 boxed set of Redhat and
> making a million copies of it, selling them for $1 each. There may be a
> trademark violation if these copies are sold as "official" Redhat
> distributions, but there is still very little reason to do this.
> 
> Overall, there is very little incentive to pirate Linux. It is a
> completely different class of software than Windows. As I like to say,
> "you can't steal what is free".

There is a possible incentive, if it's believed that by practicing
"embrace and extend" tactics, a specific distributor could gain a
stranglehold on the Linux market.

It's also possible to effectively pirate the brand or trademarks of a
Linux distribution.  Several years ago, RedHat practiced some pretty
liberal branding and distribution agreements, which were later
significantly tightened up.  There's a branding statement on their
website (the URL keeps drifting, I'll find it on request though) which
goes into length on what can and cannot be done with the "RedHat" brand.
Generally it's ok to refer to RedHat as an inspiration for a
distribution, but this cannot be done in such a way that the "RedHat"
mark or text stands out from other body text.  So you have CheapBytes
selling a RedHat 6.2 CD for $4.95, but that's just "RedHat 6.2", not
bold or otherwise distinctive type.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself at ix.netcom.com>     http://www.netcom.com/~kmself
 Evangelist, Opensales, Inc.                    http://www.opensales.org
  What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand?   Debian GNU/Linux rocks!
   http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/    K5: http://www.kuro5hin.org
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