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The GPL can't force Red Hat to continue to do business with someone.

by unmole 3y ago

tremon 3y ago
No, but the copyright holders can sue IBM for copyright violation if Red Hat distributes GPL code with restrictions attached beyond the GPL license.
- bonzini 3y ago
  Why haven't they done it in the past 20 years? The supposed restrictions have existed for that long, and the long-term support branches were never in CentOS and have always been accessible to customers only.
- unmole 3y ago
  > Red Hat distributes GPL code with restrictions attached beyond the GPL license Do you honestly believe that Red Hat and IBM's army of lawyers don't understand GPL?
  - mistrial9 3y ago
    companies are not one unified thing, though they may project that and internalize that. You don't think that there is internal tension ? differing opinions among staff attorneys? second however, it seems that there is a growing conceit among the cloud-native management, that they can ignore GPL, throw it into code-regrinding services, and generally act with impunity.
    - FireBeyond 3y ago
      Random company with a device and inconvenienced by the GPL is one thing, but it beggars belief that Red Hat, which has been working with GPLed code since 1993 that is one of the cornerstones of its business model, struggles to comprehend what GPL was intended to accomplish.
    - unmole 3y ago
      > You don't think that there is internal tension ? differing opinions among staff attorneys? In this case? Absolutely not. I'm yet to hear someone with legal training say this might be a problem. > second however, it seems that there is a growing conceit among the cloud-native management, that they can ignore GPL Red Hat isn't ignoring the GPL. I'd don't see the relevance of this digression. And this is Red Hat we're talking about, one of the few companies that managed to build a sustainable business around mostly GPL-ed software.
      - progmetaldev 3y ago
        Except we're talking about IBM now, right? Red Hat is not the same entity it once was, although may still have some or many of the same engineers on staff. The best I think we can hope for is individual engineers that have a major stake in important software deciding to leave the company.

The GPL can't force Red Hat to continue to do business with someone.

by unmole 3y ago

The GPL can't force Red Hat to continue to do business with someone.

No, but the copyright holders can sue IBM for copyright violation if Red Hat distributes GPL code with restrictions attached beyond the GPL license.

bonzini 3y ago
Why haven't they done it in the past 20 years? The supposed restrictions have existed for that long, and the long-term support branches were never in CentOS and have always been accessible to customers only.
unmole 3y ago
> Red Hat distributes GPL code with restrictions attached beyond the GPL license Do you honestly believe that Red Hat and IBM's army of lawyers don't understand GPL?
- mistrial9 3y ago
  companies are not one unified thing, though they may project that and internalize that. You don't think that there is internal tension ? differing opinions among staff attorneys? second however, it seems that there is a growing conceit among the cloud-native management, that they can ignore GPL, throw it into code-regrinding services, and generally act with impunity.
  - FireBeyond 3y ago
    Random company with a device and inconvenienced by the GPL is one thing, but it beggars belief that Red Hat, which has been working with GPLed code since 1993 that is one of the cornerstones of its business model, struggles to comprehend what GPL was intended to accomplish.
  - unmole 3y ago
    > You don't think that there is internal tension ? differing opinions among staff attorneys? In this case? Absolutely not. I'm yet to hear someone with legal training say this might be a problem. > second however, it seems that there is a growing conceit among the cloud-native management, that they can ignore GPL Red Hat isn't ignoring the GPL. I'd don't see the relevance of this digression. And this is Red Hat we're talking about, one of the few companies that managed to build a sustainable business around mostly GPL-ed software.
    - progmetaldev 3y ago
      Except we're talking about IBM now, right? Red Hat is not the same entity it once was, although may still have some or many of the same engineers on staff. The best I think we can hope for is individual engineers that have a major stake in important software deciding to leave the company.