RMS on Plan 9 license, with my comments

[Matthew C. Weigel]

On Sat, 22 Jul 2000, David Johnson wrote:

> > > > and may, at Your option, include a reasonable charge for the cost
> > > > of any media.
> > > 
> > > This seems to limit the price that may be charged for an initial
> > > distribution, prohibiting selling copies for a profit.
> > 
> > I don't think this is really a problem; a "reasonable" charge can be
> > whatever the buyer is willing to pay.
> 
> I agree. When I first read Richard's comment on this, I wound up
> scratching my head.  It seems to me that his own GPL is pretty much the
> same. It gives me the right to charge for copying, while Plan9 lets me
> charge for the media. Not much difference in my mind.

But there is, potentially, a difference -- someone can take you to court
over whether your fee was 'reasonable.' The GPL has no such limits:

	You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy,
	and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for
	a fee.

RMS is not disputing the right to sell media, but the right for the copier
or transferrer's right to set any price.

 Matthew Weigel
 Programmer/Student
 weigel+ at pitt.edu