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Hspeaker
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 Posted: Thu May 20, 2004 3:32 am Post subject: OpenOffice license question |
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Hi all.
OpenOffice for Mac OS X was recently modified by an Israeli firm (called "Yeda Computers") to support Hebrew. Yeda Computers is a distributor of Apple in Israel.
In their press release (in Hebrew, sorry) here: http://www.yeda.co.il/hotnews/hotnews-2000/openoffice.html) Yeda Computers state (at the bottom of the page) that "the price of the package to the customer is NIS 230. The software CD can be purchased at Yeda Computers". NIS 230 is about US $50.
As far as I understand the licenses, OpenOffice is a free software, meaning: one cannot limit the use, development and distribution of that software or works derived from it. I wonder if such sale is permitted by the license under which OpenOffice is developed and distributed, and if Yeda Computers are not required (by the original licensor) to distribute the software to any interested party, charging only the cost of distribution.
I'd appreciate your opinions about this matter.
Cheers,
Yoss. |
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DannyB
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Joined: 02 Apr 2003
Posts: 4021
Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 20, 2004 5:26 am Post subject: |
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I would really like to hear from someone at OpenOffice.org about this.
My understanding is that OOo is licensed under two licenses. The GPL. Or the SISSL.
If Yeda accept it under the GPL, then we already understand what conditions apply. This has been analyzed to death. When they distribute a binary to anyone who pays them, then they must make available the source to that binary.
If Yeda accepts OOo under the SISSL, and redistributes it under the same terms, this is less well understood. You have to read and understand the SISSL very carefully. My understanding of SISSL is this: you don't have to distribute source, but your binary must be fully read/write compatible with standard OOo documents. The SISSL allows redistribution, even modified versions, without source, but only in such a way that you can not incompatible proprietary features. In other words, the SISSL prevents "embrace, extend, distribute incompatible binaries only for money, extenguish."
Again, the only way to be sure is to read the licenses. It has been awhile now since I have read the SISSL at the OOo licenses page. So I hope I have not mis-stated its terms here.
Here are some past related threads....
License issues
==============
Is OpenOffice still free?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8856
Is OO free for use in companies?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8769
How free is it for companies?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5473
Licensing OOo for inclusion on laptops
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5829
Is that free?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4642
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3371
VERY COOL... but can I distribute as is?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3787
OOo Faq saying, YES it is really free
http://user-faq.openoffice.org/faq/ar01s02.html#id2812515
Trademark and why OpenOffice.org?
OpenOffice.org trademark owner
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5859
Probably a frequently asked question, but OpenOffice '.org'?
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5130
Trademark
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6487
LuxuriousityOffice
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1262
Buy OpenOffice for $50 (CAN)
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4801
For sale on Ebay? (LuxuriousityOffice)
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3956
translated Hebrew version, binary only for Mac OS X
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9046
Community distributor
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5481
OOo Document formats
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6532
Does Microsoft get paid royalties
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4132
Writing commercial plugins for OpenOffice
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3699
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avantman42
Super User
Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 760
Location: Staffordshire, UK
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| Posted: Thu May 20, 2004 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| DannyB wrote: | | If Yeda accept it under the GPL, then we already understand what conditions apply. This has been analyzed to death. When they distribute a binary to anyone who pays them, then they must make available the source to that binary. |
Yes, but it's a commonly-believed myth that you can't charge money for GPL'd software. So, just to make sure no-one reading this goes away believing that myth:
| Quote: | 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.) |
The quote is taken from the Free Software Foundation's GPL FAQ:
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney
Russ
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DannyB
Moderator
Joined: 02 Apr 2003
Posts: 4021
Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 20, 2004 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| avantman42 wrote: | | it's a commonly-believed myth that you can't charge money for GPL'd software. So, just to make sure no-one reading this goes away believing that myth: |
You are correct, of course. I did not address that point. I just assume it is understood by everyone, exactly what the GPL means. But I should not assume such things.
Since I assume that everyone understands GPL, I gave a very loose analysis of the SISSL.
Under either GPL or SISSL you can certianly charge money for OOo in either modified or unmodified form. What the combination of licenses prevent you from doing is (and this is stated on the OOo licenses page): creating a private incompatible extended version. You can create your own version which you charge money for, but it can only have any one or two of the following....
1. No source code available
2. Extensions which make it incompatible with OOo
3. No documentation or reference implementation of any incompatible extensions (item 2).
So you could sell something that has item 1 and item 3. But then it is just standard OOo.
You could sell something that has item 1 and item 2. (But since you can't have item 3, the SISSL requires an open source reference implementation for the incompatibilities and/or extensions in item 2. Thus anyone can extend standard OOo to match your incompatibilities.)
You could sell something that has item 2 and 3, but then you are providing source code.
From the OOo License Page it says....
| OOo License Page wrote: | | You can freely modify, extend, and improve the OpenOffice.org source code. The only question is whether or not you must provide the source code and contribute modifications to the community. The GPL and SISSL licenses allow different ranges of flexibility in this regard, but in the end, regardless of the license used, any and all incompatible changes must be published openly. |
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