Clarification on GPL

[Hendrik Weimer]

"David Knox" <davidknox01 at gmail.com> writes:

> A piece of software, covered under GPLv2 is available for sale,
> copyrighted by the party selling it.  If someone purchases this
> software, and as a result gets the source for it, are they free to
> release it to me?

Yes, as far as copyright is concerned. However, giving the source to
you may constitute a trademark violation, which means that your
distributor would have to rebrand the software
beforehand. Additionally, under GPLv2 it is possible that the software
cannot be redistributed when patents are involved.

> Am I permitted to then take this same piece of software and
> re-release it, modified or un-modified, for free or for a fee?

You may do any of these, with the caveats outlined above.

Hendrik