Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)
From: AC (aec$news_at_candt.demon.co.uk)
Date: 11/28/04
- Next message: Tim Kynerd: "Re: 'Free-ness' of suse(linux)!"
- Previous message: mjt: "Re: Grub error"
- Next in thread: houghi: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: houghi: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: GreyGeek: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: AC: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 18:18:16 +0000
Liking Suse and wanting to be very clear what the position about copying
is, I asked (at the end of September 2004) detail questions of Suse pre-
sales and received patient and detailed replies in a short sequence of
emails.
Note:
I asked and was told that it was ok to use the facts offered (but not as
a direct quote) for public discussions.
The answers also had the caveat that they were neither legally
accountable in a rigorous sense nor an official statement from Suse or
Novell.
Details:
===========================================================
License and Distribution:
The significance of the product being licensed can be seen rather like a
book being copyright. I can use the book, ie read it and
learn from it, work with it etc, but I do not own the copyright.
Novell/SUSE grants me the right to use the distribution and the software
of which the distribution consists, but I do not own the software.
I gathered that a distribution comprises many different software
packages - Suse Professional for example includes > 2500 software
packages. Usually a distribution comes with its own installation tools
and configuration tools to ease the installation. Suse for example has
Yast (Yet another Setup Tool).
An important factor in understanding the situation is to appreciate that
there is a difference between implications of a single package and a
distribution as a work of its own.
Each single package comes with its own distribution license. This is
mostly GPL or LGPL, but there are also many other licenses.
Some of them restrict the use or the right of copying the software.
The distribution should be seen as a complete work of its own because of
the work the distributor did:
- Retrieving the software
- compiling the software
- testing the software
- assuring that dependencies are fulfilled
- adding additional value with the installation- and configuration tool.
- adding a printed manual
- etc
Although many of the packages of which a distribution comprises are
freely available on the net, the distribution itself may not be free
because of the work that the distributor invested.
License and Registration:
License = the right to use the distribution
Registration = refers to the fact that I have to register at
http://portal.suse.com in order to make use of the free installation
support.
It is the user who is registered, not the installation. However, free
installation support will only be given for one installation per
registration key. (If I have two PCs installed, it doesn't matter if
this is in fact my first or second pc etc etc)
I am licensed to use Suse Professional (subject of my initial enquiry)
on all of my PCs
Other machines - not owned by me:
I am allowed to install Suse Professional and Personal on machines other
than my own as long as I do not charge for it. No money or other
transaction is allowed - even a non profit one.
If I installed Suse and charged for it, or installed it as
a give-away on sold PC hardware the customer has to purchase a full
version of the installed product.
These installations cannot be registered because the people don't have a
valid registration key, (presumably until they purchase a version -
which will have a registration key)
In cases where the above has been complied with, these installations are
licensed.
Relating to discussion of 9.1 Personal iso download, and later to box
set 9.1 Professional CDs:
I am allowed to make private copies and give them away for free.
It doesn't matter if the copy is from a full version or from the
Live-Eval.
I am not allowed to make money from the copies, not even as a refund
for my efforts, or my costs, or related costs for example postage. I am
not allowed to make copies and give them away as any part of any
commercial act whatsoever.
Referring to activities relating to installation in a charity:
It was suggested that the student edition program be considered
supposing the situation fell under the regulations as described at
http://www.suse.co.uk/uk/company/edu/eligible_individuals_institutions.h
tml).
Copyright:
the copyright notice link (as seen during late September 2004) -
http://www.novell.com/company/legal/copyrights/index.html
also covered written permission on a case by case basis. I questioned
this:
I gathered that these regulations applied for Novell brand products and
parts of Ximian products. These consist of proprietary, closed source
code. Suse products consist of Open Source code and do not fall under
these regulations except for the names Novell and SUSE and the related
logos.
===========================================================
(My thanks to Suse Pre sales for the patient and detailed answers to my
questions)
-- AlanC
- Next message: Tim Kynerd: "Re: 'Free-ness' of suse(linux)!"
- Previous message: mjt: "Re: Grub error"
- Next in thread: houghi: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: houghi: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: GreyGeek: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Reply: AC: "Re: Copying, license, registration - Suse - summary from emails (long)"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Relevant Pages
|
