Re: Red Hat Enterprise - do I have to subscibe?

From: prg (rdgentry1_at_cablelynx.com)
Date: 01/07/05 

Date: 7 Jan 2005 08:42:53 -0800

peterharding@yahoo.com wrote:
> >
> > Please do ask Redhat.
> >
> Hi Bill, I phoned Red Hat yesterday (in the UK) and asked 2
questions:
> 1. can I install Red Hat ES on as many servers as I like without
buying
> more than 1 subscription?
>
> Their answer was NO. You would have to remove the Red Hat logos and
> contact IBM to see if I can use their Java programs! They didn't seem
> too certain of their answer.

They must be dolts ... see below extracts from license. IBM not the
only 3rd party involved and it's not RH that can enforce licenses for
them anyway (most likely).

> 2. For one server, do I have to keep re-newing the subscription every
> year to legally keep using the system?
>
> Again, they seem to fumble over their answer. The person that took my
> call couldn't say yes or no. They took my details and said a sales
> person would ring me back - but they haven't yet!

Depends on what you mean by "keep using the system". RHN access
definitely ends. You must give 60 days written notification of intent
to terminate -- it's an auto-renewing subscription like a book club.
You _can_ continue to use the other parts in accordance with GPL or 3rd
party licenses. See below.

Customer reps and sales people are _not_ authoritative or useful in
this context. If you wnat legal answers to legal questions you will
have to contact their lawyers -- probably through the avenue of your
own lawyer ;-)

Extracts/comments:

IANAL, but, please, this is _not_ brain surgery; it only requires you
read and understand English (or whatever language is applicable to your
purchase). Do not try to read into the license that which is not there
-- you _agreed_ to the terms as a condition of purchase. No one to
blame but yourself if you don't like the terms or wish they were
different.

The GPL insures "free as in speach" access to the GPL source code. It
does _not_ require "free as in beer" any _services_ that you may
purchase with GPL code. Essentially the Subscription is a service
which you have purchased.

Subscription Agreement
[snip]
I. Terms and Conditions
A. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
...
The term "Software" means the ***subscription*** ...

The term "Installed Systems" means the ***number*** of Systems on which
Customer installs or executes the Software.

The term "System" means ***any hardware*** on which the Software is
installed, which may be, ***without limitation***, a server, a work
station, a virtual machine, a blade, a partition or an engine, as
applicable.

The ***initial*** number of Installed Systems is the ***number of
copies*** of the Software that Customer purchases.

The ***parties agree*** that the terms of this Agreement will govern
***future purchases*** by Customer of Red Hat's products and services
unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing.

4. REPORTING AND AUDIT. If Customer wishes to ***increase the number of
Installed System***, then ***Customer will purchase*** from Red Hat
***additional*** Services for ***each additional*** Installed System.
...
9. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement shall constitute the ***exclusive
terms and conditions*** with respect to the purchases of Software and
Services under this Agreement by Customer from Red Hat,...
...
II. Support Services Service Levels
A. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Red Hat will provide the purchased subscription(s) subject to the
following terms.
1. DEFINITIONS:
Red Hat Network ("RHN") is the collection of services and technology
related to software delivery, updates and upgrade, management, and
provisioning for systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

"Software" means the software ***purchased under this Agreement,***
which is provided under Red Hat's trademarks and is subject to the
applicable end user license agreement.

2. CUSTOMER OBLIGATIONS

2.2 ... The Support Services purchased by Customer are intended for use
only for the benefit of the Customer and ***only for the Installed
Systems with subscriptions.***

[*The _one_ possible area of poorly constructed language I can find.
What are the implications for "Installed Systems" _without_
subscriptions? RH will claim the ISOs make these inseparble and other
language in the document conforms with and confirms this view. IMHO,
they would win the point*].

>>From the EULA:
1. The Software. Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Applications (the
"Software") are either a modular operating system or application
***consisting of hundreds of software components.*** The end user
license agreement for each component is ***located in the component's
source code.*** With the exception of certain image files identified in
Section 2 below, the license terms ***for the components*** permit
Customer to copy, modify, and redistribute the component, in both
source code and binary code forms. This agreement does not limit
Customer's rights under, or grant Customer rights that supersede, the
license terms of any particular component.

Third party licenses of included software available here:
http://www.redhat.com/licenses/thirdparty/eula.html

And I could go on. Cut to the chase ...

1) You _cannot_ copy and install the ISOs without purchasing additional
subscribtions.

2) You _can_ "copy" (ie., compile from source) ***individual
components*** if the component license allows.

3) You _can_ redistribute in accordance with (2).

In other words, you _can_ decompose the "Software" into its individual,
_redistributable_ components and do what you damn well please with it.
You _cannot_ copy or redistribute the ISOs which, btw, include
proprietary code. Ie., you have to separate the GPL from the
proprietary code (RHN among others).

If you want such free, redistributable "copies", either diy or just get
a copy of Whitebox. Much easier and cheaper than clarifying in court
the marriage of subscriptions and GPL code. RH is _not_ the only one
taking this approach -- not by a long shot.

I know that this will not "clarify" this issue to everyone's
(anyone's?) satisfaction -- the human impulse to read into aggreements
that which we _wish_ were there is too great. That is why we have
contract law and the courts ;-) RH has more incentive and $ to assure
their view prevails. Get the picture?

Re: Renewals and do I gotta keep giving 'em $ ?

1. TERM AND TERMINATION

1.1 Term. ... the term for Services ***shall renew*** for successive
terms of one (1) year each unless a different term is agreed to by the
parties at the time of renewal and unless either party gives written
notice to the other of its ***intention not to renew*** at least sixty
(60) days prior to the commencement of the next term; provided,
however, Customer shall have the right to ***terminate*** this
Agreement at any time after the first year by giving ***sixty (60) days
prior written notice*** of termination to Red Hat. Customer shall
remain obligated for all fees through the date of termination.

B. SERVICE LEVELS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS
1. Red Hat Network ***Proxy Server and Satellite.***

... Upon termination of the subscription, Customer immediately will
destroy all copies of the RHN Code in its possession (including any RHN
Code installed on the RHN Servers).

For regular RHN access I think termination/expiration just ends your
access to RHN. No "code" to return, etc. You are now the proud owner
of "unsupported" software, the diy kind. Compatable with Whitebox
fixes/updates? My guess is "yes, most of the time".
regards and happy licensing,
prg
email above disabled

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Suse Selling Out the Open Source Community. Who Will Be Next?
    ... Software" as "the subscription to the software purchased", ... would therefore deduce that that means you can't put or execute RH ... you may replicate the software contained in Red Hat? ... Enterprise Linux? ...
    (alt.os.linux)
  • RE: Problems to Install Oracle Client 10g over Red Hat AS 3.0update3
    ... Oracle 10g R1 DB go out of memory once in a while goes for a toss till it ... "General Red Hat Linux discussion list" ... Problems to Install Oracle Client 10g over Red Hat AS 3.0update3 ...
    (RedHat)
  • Re: Time to start Linuxing..some questions?
    ... me on the net to download the rest..advice on how to bootstrap a raw ... Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its relations (e.g., ... So I do not install Apache, Samba, most of the other servers, though I do ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)
  • Re: I have installed Red Hat Enterprise illegally!
    ... >> Red Hat from the net. ... so I visited my local bookshop to purchase a book on Linux. ... What Redhat does own is their logos and the name Redhat. ... >is install your new distro in the same partition that you installed RHEL. ...
    (alt.os.linux.redhat)
  • Re: CentOS for newbies desktop? [Was: Re: Fedora Core ... problem]
    ... packaging and admin techniques that would make a usable desktop ... People who are computer savvy to some degree (or not that much savvy in one case -- but the lady has learned Red Hat first in times when it was still Red Hat, and then she got Windows with the new computer, and now she goes around and notalgically remembers about beautfy of that Red Hat icons which was welcoming her on login, and hates unfriendliness of Windows;-) -- and she is really not computer geek; sorry, I digress). ... Being now a Red Hat employee, I would love to install them some Red Hat related distro, but I am not sure which one. ... The nature of the fedora/RHEL split is that if you want new app features you have to accept the experimental kernels and device drivers that come bundled with them in fedora. ...
    (Fedora)