From: adam@netcom.com (Adam J. Richter) Subject: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Alpha release Linux/GNU/X unix clone on CDROM for PCs Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 07:05:37 GMT
In article <9211282250.34@rmkhome.UUCP> rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly) writes:
>Linux is covered by the GPL and is of course copyable. However, the original
>announcement of the Linux CD-ROM for $99 had a caveat included that seemed to
>imply that the makers of the CD-ROM wouldn't allow that. ??????
The alpha Linux/GNU/X CDROM is free software, as will be the
subsequent CDROM releases. Even if you want to make a competing
CDROM from the Yggdrasil version, that will be legal. There are,
however, two conditions that are in the works:
1. There is a "meta-GPL" in the works which will
require any competing derivative distribution
also to be 100% free software.
2. I'm going to pick a logo and a name for these
CDROM distributions (suggestions welcome). You'll
be free to copy the files containing the names and
logos, of course. Just make sure that if you make
a competing CD that it doesn't use the trademarks
in a way that suggests that it's from Yggdrasil.
(E.g., it shouldn't display the logo when it boots
and proclaim "This is the Yggdrasil Y-nix 5.0 CDROM.")
I am aware that condition #2 could be used to effectively
restrict copying (e.g., by hard wiring a trademark into every non-GPL
program). I am looking for some language to put into the meta-GPL to
prohibit that kind of abuse. On any Yggdrasil CDROM's that have such
a trademark, there will be a clearly documented trivial procedure
for removing or replacing the trademarks without breaking the CDROM
distributions. If you want to sell a relabelled (or unlabelled)
version of the Yggdrasil CDROM, you'll even be able to have Yggdrasil
make it for you so that you will have the latest version as soon as the
regular CD's come out. Of course you'll also be free to make it
yourself if you prefer. I'm also thinking about having a smaller logo
that could be used to indicate that a particular CD is a relabelled
version of an Yggdrasil CD.
If you're thinking of making exact copies of the Yggdrasil
CDROM simply to have one to sell, check out the quantity discounts
first (especially the second schedule). If you still want to do your
own mastering because you want to do your own manuals or boot floppies
or something, call, because Yggdrasil may be able to offer you a
slightly better deal than your CDROM facility offers you.
-- Adam J. Richter Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated 409 Evelyn Avenue, Apt. 312 PO Box 8418 Albany CA 94706 Berkeley CA 94707-8418 (510) 528-3209 (510) 526-7531, fax: (510) 528-8508 adam@netcom.com yggdrasil@netcom.com Another member of the League for Programming Freedom (league@prep.ai.mit.edu).