gpg: failed to create temporary file '/var/lib/lurker/.#lk0x5819b100.hantslug.org.uk.25947': Permission denied
gpg: keyblock resource '/var/lib/lurker/pubring.gpg': Permission denied
gpg: Signature made Sat Oct 24 23:56:02 2009 BST
gpg: using DSA key 20ACB3BE515C238D
gpg: Can't check signature: No public key
On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 11:04:18PM +0100, Tim Brocklehurst wrote:
> On Saturday 24 October 2009 22:55:23 Hugo Mills wrote:
> > On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 08:44:29PM +0100, Tim Brocklehurst wrote:
> > > I came across this thread this afternoon, and thought that it was worth
> > > bringing to everyone's attention. Essentially, an unscrupulous company
> > > has taken the Freship project, removed all references to the GPL, and put
> > > their own name on it, and are now selling it.
> > >
> > > http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/design-software/again-still-29732.html
> > >
> > > I think it's worth remembering that the software that we use and develop
> > > can still be pirated.
> >
> > Worth introducing the authors of the software in question to Harald
> > Welte and the GPL-Violations people[1]?
> >
> > Hugo.
> >
> > [1] http://www.gpl-violations.org/
> >
>
> I have just pointed the author toward GPL-Violations, but I don't think this
> is the first time he's had problems with this bunch of people.
Well, they seem (from that discussion) to be violating the GPL, as
in they've modified the software, are shipping it, and aren't offering
the source code to their customers. It's a small detail in this case
(since the only modifications they're making are changing the name),
but IMO it's worth following up simply to make the point that there
*are* licence terms involved, and the GPL *isn't* just giving them
free rein to copy, screw around with, and sell someone else's
software.
The fact that they're making money on someone else's effort is,
sadly, inherent in the GPL, and, while reprehensible (IMO), there's
not a lot that can be done except advertise to the potential
"customers" of this company that they could get exactly the same
software for free, likely with better support, by downloading the
original. In the case, as I suspect we see here, of a relatively
limited potential market and an interested and competent set of
supporters, that's probably not too difficult to cover in a way that
Google can pick it up.
I've seen even worse abuses, where the company passing off the
software as their own refused to offer any form of support and simply
pointed "their" hapless users to the free forums of the upstream
developers. The original developers then refused to help anyone who'd
bought the software from the company, with a reference to an FAQ about
the whole situation...
Hugo.
--
=== Hugo Mills: hugo@... carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk ===
PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk
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