Re: mysql.org

[Trond Eivind Glomsrød]

btjones@stripped writes:

> I am far from a legal expert on this... but is it all that bad that
> NuSphere wishes to sell a derivative work of MySQL?  Other than it competes
> with MySQL AB's business of selling their own commercial deployments of the
> package?  And by that I can somewhat see why NuSphere is using the phrase
> "unfair business practice."
> 
> I'm fairly certain that MySQL is primarily developed on RedHat Linux
> servers, is it not?  Linux has gotten itself out of the "hackers" domain
> into the mainstream due to the commercial investments of companies like
> RedHat and Caldera, both of which sell the GPL product at a profit,
> including their own enhancements to it.  I can walk into Office Depot this
> afternoon and purchase RedHat 7.x right off the shelf.  It's sitting right
> there beside Windows2000.  Obviously, agreements are in place to allow
> this.

There's nothing wrong in selling, fixing, extending etc. GPLed
software. However, doing so means that to comply with the license you
have to do so yourself - you have to release your improvements with
the same copyright (GPL) as the rest of the code. 

-- 
Trond Eivind Glomsrød
Red Hat, Inc.