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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.Hawaii.Edu!news.lava.net!news-w.ans.net!newsfeeds.ans.net!feeder.chicago.cic.net!news.enteract.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.bc.net!info.ucla.edu!nnrp.info.ucla.edu!ucsbuxb.ucsb.edu!nntp.ucsb.edu!usenet From: Axel Boldt <boldt@math.ucsb.edu> Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.networking,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy Subject: Re: GPL Date: 17 Feb 1997 17:25:25 -0800 Organization: Univ of California at Santa Barbara, Dept of Mathematics Lines: 24 Sender: boldt@emile Message-ID: <ywthgja7vne.fsf@math.ucsb.edu> References: <32DFFEAB.7704@usa.net> <5d2jpo$bb1@omega.gmd.de> <LJn9y0gTzz1L091yn@ibm.net> <5df12n$ckb@kadri.ut.ee> <5dn154$lgg@m1.cs.man.ac.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: emile.math.ucsb.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:159126 comp.os.linux.networking:68783 comp.os.linux.advocacy:84392 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2537 comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy:53338 comp.os.os2.advocacy:268171 f e l l o w s d @ c s . m a n . a c . u k (Donal K. Fellows) writes: > If the manufacturer wants to use GCC and makes a modification to GCC > itself, then those mods must be made freely redistributable or the > use/redistribution of GCC is illegal. No. They can make a modification and *use* the modified gcc all they want. They are free to license and copyright the output of this modified gcc in any way they choose. All they are required to do under the GPL is to add a prominent notice to gcc saying that they made changes. They *need not* make the modified gcc available to anyone. They can keep it secret; they simply cannot *distribute* their secrets. If they want to *distribute* their modified gcc (in plain English: give it to somebody else), then they have to put it under the GPL and they have to make sure that the recipient has access to source. In short: what you do in the privacy of your own home is none of GPL's business. This is different from other software licenses, which actually restrict your private actions. Everybody please read the GPL now. Axel