Alfresco shifts to GPL

[Philippe Verdy]

Matthew Flaschen [mailto:matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu] wrote:
> (...) "Alfresco users may freely modify our source
> code without contributing anything back to us, provided that they do not
> distribute these derivative works."  On the latter, maybe it's mixing up
> contributing back (i.e. copyright assignment) with GPL licensing.

Forbidding the distribution of modified code is against the GPL. The GPL
explicitly permits users to use and modify the software, but also to
distribute the original as well as derived works based on that original.
If you are not free of distributing the derived version, this is against the
GPL.

The GPL just requires the attribution notice (the copyright statement with
the name of the original software pakage), the explicit exclusion of
warranty by the copyright holder (unless you have contracted for such
support directly with that copyright holder which may charge for this
support and may provide it under some limitative provisions such as
supporting only the original version and not any derived work), and the copy
of the GPL licence.