CT-PC89E - translation of meaning behind this alibaba page

[Neil Brown]

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Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:

>  i meant: i have used "wget -r -l 10 --no-parent
> http://repositories.mid-linux.org/extras" and thus i have taken a
> _copy_ of everything that is at
> http://repositories.mid-linux.org/extras [i have not redistributed
> it].
> 
>  does _that_ now entitle me to request the source code

Not until such time as the person who makes the copy distributes/conveys
it - for example, one could wget the entire contents of the repo above,
and have no obligation to make the source code available.

Once one distributes/conveys one of the binaries within that repo, one
is required to comply with clause 3 / clause 6 (depending on which GNU
GPL applies), in terms of providing the relevant source code for that
binary. That obligation does not extend, however, to all the other
binaries which are being made available, but which have not been downloaded.

In other words, if you *could* download all the binaries from site X,
but choose not to do so, you do not have the right to the source code.

One caveat to this is that, under clause 3(b), GNU GPL 2, if one chooses
to accompany the distribution with a written offer, the offer must be
open to any third party, not necessarily a third party in possession of
the corresponding binary. On this basis, you may be entitled to a copy
of the source code to a binary which you do not possess, provided that
someone else has received the binary from the distributor. (A similar
obligation exists within clause 6(b), GNU GPL 3, but, that only arises
in the situation of embedded code, rather than online binary distribution.)
- --




Neil

neil at neilzone.co.uk | http://neilzone.co.uk

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