Re: [MacPerl] [ Somewhat OFFTOPIC ] Mac OS X Developer Tools

[Wilfredo Sanchez <wsanchez@apple.com>]

> The distribution is not under GPL terms.  But gcc, binutils, etc., are. 
> Same thing with the BSD programs.  You cannot relicense them, so they are 
> therefore still under the original licenses, which state that I can 
> distribute them freely. 

  You should be careful about that train of thought, there.

  In practice, you are correct, because we do not relicense them.  But you
are incorrect in asserting that one cannot relicense them.  You definately
can relicense BSD code and you can also relicense GPL code, abeit with some
additional restrictions.

  I can distribute a version of BSD cp under the "evil guy license" which
gives you no redistribution rights whatsoever, and only lets you use it while
standing doing a handstand.  This is allowed, and not particularly discouraged
in the BSD community.  I know of several cases where this has been done.

  Going a little on the wacky side, I believe I can, in fact, even do the same
thing with, say wget, which is GPL'ed, so long as the evil guy license does
not allow you to do redistribute the software.  You would, however, be able to
demand the source code to the program, and, assuming that the proper tools are
available to you, make a free version, so the issue is in a larger sense moot.
Anyway, I'd have to make a some effort to defend this, but I think I could if it
were somehow worth it.

  My point is that your assumption that "the code started out free implies that
it remains free" is incorrect, at least in the BSD case, and you might get
yourself into a bind if you assume that in a case where a vendor is feeling
impolite about it.  I wouldn't recommend it.

  As an example, the BSD code in our kernel is licensed under the APSL, not
the BSD license in Darwin, and it is under the Apple Software License Agreement
(not open source) when distributed with Mac OS X Public Beta.  That there is
BSD code in there does not entitle you to redistribute the kernel freely.

	-Fred

Wilfredo Sánchez, wsanchez@apple.com
Open Source Engineering Lead
Apple Computer, Inc., Core Operating System Group
1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 94086, 408.974-5174

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