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The reaction should be positive, if anything. Linux distros have been for sale on computer-store shelves for years; OpenOffice.org shows up sometimes, too. Inst

by etal 18y ago

The reaction should be positive, if anything. Linux distros have been for sale on computer-store shelves for years; OpenOffice.org shows up sometimes, too. Installfests sometimes ask for a few bucks for the disks if you want to keep them. I believe the GPL requires a "reasonable" price, though, corresponding to shipping/handling/media/convenience. So $50-$100 is justifiable, but $1000+ less so. A court challenge to someone hawking $5,000 Debian licenses to BigCo would probably still be tricky, though, since it's easy to claim the extra cost is for installation support, expertise, etc. Judging by past FSF lawsuits, it seems to be easiest to tag a reseller for failing to include a GPL notice or instructions for getting the source code.

deleted 18y ago
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LogicHoleFlaw 18y ago
My understanding of the GPL is that you can sell the software for any price you wish. However, if you do not include the source code with the product, you must distribute that source code at a reasonable price to all askers.
- etal 18y ago
  Yes, you're right: Does the GPL allow me to sell copies of the program for money? Yes, the GPL allows everyone to do this. The right to sell copies is part of the definition of free software. Except in one special situation, there is no limit on what price you can charge. (The one exception is the required written offer to provide source code that must accompany binary-only release.) Does the GPL allow me to charge a fee for downloading the program from my site? Yes. You can charge any fee you wish for distributing a copy of the program. If you distribute binaries by download, you must provide "equivalent access" to download the source -- therefore, the fee to download source may not be greater than the fee to download the binary. (Source: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMone...)

by etal 18y ago

deleted 18y ago

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LogicHoleFlaw 18y ago

My understanding of the GPL is that you can sell the software for any price you wish. However, if you do not include the source code with the product, you must distribute that source code at a reasonable price to all askers.

etal 18y ago
Yes, you're right: Does the GPL allow me to sell copies of the program for money? Yes, the GPL allows everyone to do this. The right to sell copies is part of the definition of free software. Except in one special situation, there is no limit on what price you can charge. (The one exception is the required written offer to provide source code that must accompany binary-only release.) Does the GPL allow me to charge a fee for downloading the program from my site? Yes. You can charge any fee you wish for distributing a copy of the program. If you distribute binaries by download, you must provide "equivalent access" to download the source -- therefore, the fee to download source may not be greater than the fee to download the binary. (Source: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMone...)