[wellylug] GPL Licence

[jumbophut]

On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 14:33:50 +1200, Jethro Carr wrote:
> hi all,
> 
> I'm just trying to understand something in the GPL licence,
> 
<snip>
> How come people like ISPS, Mirrors, etc, can host binary versions of
> distros without providing source code access? Isn't this against the
> GPL?
> 

It seems that as long as source is easily available somewhere else,
you're probably okay.  There's a 'de minimis' principle used in law
which says that when the harm caused by infraction is really small,
the law should ignore it (de minimis non curat lex = the law does not
concern itself with trifles).  It gets used a lot in tax and resource
management matters, and I can't see why it shouldn't apply to software
licenses as well.

Anyway, the authoritative word from
<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html> is:

"Can I put the binaries on my Internet server and put the source on a
different Internet site?

    The GPL says you must offer access to copy the source code "from
the same place"; that is, next to the binaries. However, if you make
arrangements with another site to keep the necessary source code
available, and put a link or cross-reference to the source code next
to the binaries, we think that qualifies as "from the same place".

    Note, however, that it is not enough to find some site that
happens to have the appropriate source code today, and tell people to
look there. Tomorrow that site may have deleted that source code, or
simply replaced it with a newer version of the same program. Then you
would no longer be complying with the GPL requirements. To make a
reasonable effort to comply, you need to make a positive arrangement
with the other site, and thus ensure that the source will be available
there for as long as you keep the binaries available. "

(IANAL)

-- 
Tony (echo 'spend!,pocket awide' | sed 'y/acdeikospntw!, /l at omcgtjuba.phi/')