Does the GPL allow me to sell copies of the program for money?
Yes, the GPL allows everyone to do this. The right to sell copies is part of the definition of free software. Except in one special situation, there is no limit on what price you can charge. (The one exception is the required written offer to provide source code that must accompany binary-only release.)
If I distribute GPL'd software for a fee, am I required to also make it available to the public without a charge?
No. However, if someone pays your fee and gets a copy, the GPL gives them the freedom to release it to the public, with or without a fee. For example, someone could pay your fee, and then put her copy on a web site for the general public.
From my understanding distributing it on bittorrent would be redistribution which is permitted under the GPL without limitation (however Trademarks etc could still be violated!) This is how projects like CentOS work - they remove the trademarks, rebuild and then redistribute - and this is perfectly legal.
The company themselves are under no obligation to release source code unless they distribute the software to you.
So your options are:
Get it from someone else (who redistributes it under the GPL)
Purchase the product from the company - they'll give you the source code
I would personally suggest the latter option because it supports companies that support the GPL!
One question is whether the author wrote all the software or used any pre-existing GPLed software. If the person on the web site owns the copyright completely, then the web site may impose any conditions, including those incompatible with the GPL. Of course, releasing it under the GPL gives you some rights by itself. In particular, you can't redistribute without the source code, but you can make copies and use them.
The above practice is generally considered unfriendly by Free and Open Source Software advocates. Since it's not really honest to advertise GPLv2 and not deliver everything necessary, I'd advise being careful about the product. People who deliberately misrepresent things in advertising are likely to be selling shoddy software.
If the software contains pre-existing GPLed components, and the author didn't come to other terms with the copyright holders, then the GPL applies in full. The distributor has to provide source code (either with the executable or on request at nominal cost) and may not impose restrictions not allowed by the GPL.
There's also the possibility that the author released under GPLv2 without actually understanding the license. This happens from time to time, and frequently the FSF will quietly work with companies on getting into compliance.
In either case, it's perfectly fine to sell the software. If somebody else has the software including the source, they can redistribute freely, and it's perfectly legal for you to get it from them.
This is obviously a very simple business trick that relies on the naivity of the purchaser. It is obvious that, if the component is GPL, you can get it from any other user (bittorrent, file sharing), redistribute it and even resell it (but keep it GPL).
It is also very obvious that, if there's no other source to find/get it from, if you purchase, there is absolutely no need to pay multiple times for it. You just need to buy it once, and re-use it on all of the websites that you wish.
Even if it has some source of protection, the source code is open, so you can easily remove that protection.
Just out of curiousity, can you please give the name/website of the Joomla! component?
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这是来自 GNU 站点的常见问题解答。我认为它回答了你的问题:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl -faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney
进一步说明:
Here is a FAQ from the GNU site. I think it answers your question:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney
Further more:
对于 GPL 软件,源代码必须与二进制版本一起分发,或者根据请求分发给合法获得二进制版本的任何人。
因此,如果您没有从他们那里购买产品,他们没有义务向您提供源代码。
明显的另一面是,任何合法获得源代码的人都可以随意重新分发它。
For GPL software, the source code must be distributed with the binary version or upon request to anyone who legally obtains the binary version.
Ergo, if you didn't buy the product from them, they are under no obligation to give you the source code.
The obvious flip side to this is that anyone who DOES legitimately get the source code is free to redistribute it as they please.
根据我的理解,在 BitTorrent 上分发它是 GPL 允许的重新分发,不受限制(但是商标等仍然可能被侵犯!)这就是像 CentOS 工作 - 他们删除商标,重建然后重新分发 - 这是完全合法的。
公司本身没有义务发布源代码,除非他们将软件分发给您。
所以你的选择是:
我个人想要的 源代码建议使用后一个选项,因为它支持支持 GPL 的公司!
From my understanding distributing it on bittorrent would be redistribution which is permitted under the GPL without limitation (however Trademarks etc could still be violated!) This is how projects like CentOS work - they remove the trademarks, rebuild and then redistribute - and this is perfectly legal.
The company themselves are under no obligation to release source code unless they distribute the software to you.
So your options are:
I would personally suggest the latter option because it supports companies that support the GPL!
一个问题是作者是否编写了所有软件或使用了任何现有的 GPL 软件。如果网站上的人完全拥有版权,那么网站可能会施加任何条件,包括与 GPL 不兼容的条件。当然,根据 GPL 发布它本身就赋予您一些权利。特别是,如果没有源代码,您将无法重新分发,但您可以复制并使用它们。
自由和开源软件倡导者普遍认为上述做法不友好。由于宣传 GPLv2 并且不提供所有必需的内容是不诚实的,因此我建议谨慎对待该产品。在广告中故意歪曲事实的人很可能销售劣质软件。
如果软件包含预先存在的 GPL 组件,并且作者未与版权所有者达成其他条款,则 GPL 完全适用。发行商必须提供源代码(可以是可执行文件,也可以按要求以名义成本提供),并且不得施加 GPL 不允许的限制。
还有一种可能性是,作者在没有真正理解许可证的情况下就根据 GPLv2 进行了发布。这种情况时有发生,FSF 通常会悄悄地与公司合作以实现合规。
无论哪种情况,出售该软件都是完全可以的。如果其他人拥有该软件(包括源代码),他们可以自由地重新分发,并且您从他们那里获取该软件是完全合法的。
One question is whether the author wrote all the software or used any pre-existing GPLed software. If the person on the web site owns the copyright completely, then the web site may impose any conditions, including those incompatible with the GPL. Of course, releasing it under the GPL gives you some rights by itself. In particular, you can't redistribute without the source code, but you can make copies and use them.
The above practice is generally considered unfriendly by Free and Open Source Software advocates. Since it's not really honest to advertise GPLv2 and not deliver everything necessary, I'd advise being careful about the product. People who deliberately misrepresent things in advertising are likely to be selling shoddy software.
If the software contains pre-existing GPLed components, and the author didn't come to other terms with the copyright holders, then the GPL applies in full. The distributor has to provide source code (either with the executable or on request at nominal cost) and may not impose restrictions not allowed by the GPL.
There's also the possibility that the author released under GPLv2 without actually understanding the license. This happens from time to time, and frequently the FSF will quietly work with companies on getting into compliance.
In either case, it's perfectly fine to sell the software. If somebody else has the software including the source, they can redistribute freely, and it's perfectly legal for you to get it from them.
这显然是一个非常简单的商业伎俩,依赖于购买者的天真。很明显,如果组件是 GPL,您可以从任何其他用户(bittorrent、文件共享)获取它,重新分发它,甚至转售它(但保持 GPL)。
同样很明显的是,如果没有其他来源可以找到/获取它,如果您购买,则绝对不需要多次支付费用。您只需购买一次,然后在您想要的所有网站上重复使用它。
即使它有一些来源保护,源代码也是开放的,因此您可以轻松删除该保护。
只是出于好奇,您能提供 Joomla! 的名称/网站吗?成分?
This is obviously a very simple business trick that relies on the naivity of the purchaser. It is obvious that, if the component is GPL, you can get it from any other user (bittorrent, file sharing), redistribute it and even resell it (but keep it GPL).
It is also very obvious that, if there's no other source to find/get it from, if you purchase, there is absolutely no need to pay multiple times for it. You just need to buy it once, and re-use it on all of the websites that you wish.
Even if it has some source of protection, the source code is open, so you can easily remove that protection.
Just out of curiousity, can you please give the name/website of the Joomla! component?