[CentOS-mirror] Request For Mirroring

Ray Morris support at bettercgi.com
Mon Jan 31 12:46:27 EST 2011


Ralph Angenendt ralph.angenendt at gmail.com wrote:
> >       Embargoed Destinations
> > 
> >       Fedora's software and/or technical data may NOT be
> >       exported/reexported, either directly or indirectly, to the
> > following U.S. embargoed or restricted destinations:
> > 
> >       Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan or Syria.

> Isn't that against the GPL?

> Any Lawyers on here?

  It does not, but it could have been worded better, and in fact I 
believe the wording was updated.  Also, the wording essentially has 
no real effect.  First, that section applies only to the Fedora system 
as a whole. Paragraph 1 of the Fedora license states that each piece 
may be distributed under the GPL or other applicable license. So each
package is still GPL, just the ISOs, basically, are export restricted,
according to the Fedora license.

  In section 5 of GPL v3 you'll find:

Inclusion of a covered work in an aggregate does not cause this 
License to apply to the other parts of the aggregate.

  Under section 5, Fedora could use any license they wish for the
aggregate (ISO) without violating the GPL.  For that reason, it 
doesn't violate the GPL, since the GPL says they can license the 
ISO any way they wish, so long as each package is GPL.

   As far as the actual effect, recall that the GPL, like any 
license, is only the AUTHOR giving you THEIR permission to do
certain things.  That doesn't imply that the GOVERNMENT also gives
THEIR permission.  So while the GPL license may not restrict export, 
US law may in some cases.  Neither Fedora nor anyone else can give
you permission to violate the law, so those export restrictions are
in place no matter what Fedora says. 

   In reality, if you violate the law and the license by exporting 
an ISO, Fedora isn't going to come after you.  They are just covering 
their butts legally by not being clear that they are not giving you 
permission to violate the law.  US law says that they can't indirectly 
export it, by giving it to you and telling you that you can export it.
It may have been better to word it as a warning rather than a 
restriction, simply warning the user that exporting certain packages
may be illegal.

  In any event, paragraph 1 of the Fedora license does all that's
necesary under the GPL when it grants you a GPL license, using 
these words:

This agreement does not limit User's rights under, or grant
User rights that supersede, the license terms of any particular
component.
-- 
Ray Morris
support at bettercgi.com

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