The Rails Wheels licencing system and Open Source

[David Woolley]

Mark James wrote:
> John Cowan wrote:
>> Mark Reginald James scripsit:
>>
>>> - All packages are free of charge until used on a live website.
>>
>> This violates OSD #6, discrimination against fields of endeavor
>> (because the software can be used on a system which is not used for a
>> "live website").
> 
> John, this would only be the case if a requirement to check, and
> perhaps pay, a licence fee is considered a form of use restriction.

It's fundamental to open source that a recipient must be able to 
redistribute without being required to pay anything to anyone and 
without the recipient being required to pay anything to anyone, with the 
exception that the person immediately supplying the copy may decline to 
provide it without payment being made.  This only applies to the 
copyright, although open source with patent encumbrances is generally 
frowned upon and many people don't like Red Hat's trade mark 
encumbrances, although, in that case, re-distributors can, and have, 
removed the branding.



-- 
David Woolley
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