When does a vendor need to provide sourcecode for products?

[Armijn Hemel]

Hello Daniel,

> i was told of a possible GPL violation. There is a vendor selling software 
> which turns your PC into a thin client. That software is, surprise 
> surprise, linux based. The policy of the vendor seems to be: admit that 
> its linux, dont bother about the GPL, and if some customer ask for the 
> sources point them to www.kernel.org.
> 
> Well, this is a clear violation of the GPL i think. The problem is: The 
> vendor does not have a download/trial version available on the website. So 
> my question is: Does the vendor need to provide the source code for the 
> GPL parts of the software to anyone or just to customers?

That depends. There are basically two options, which are outlined in the
GPL in sections 3a and 3b. The 3a section says (roughly said): ship the
sourcecode with the product, section 3b says (again, roughly): add an offer
for the sourcecode for any third party, valid for three years.

armijn

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  armijn at uulug.nl | http://www.uulug.nl/ | UULug: Utrecht Linux Users Group
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