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 Strongbox - The next generation in site security: http://www.bettercgi.com/strongbox/ Throttlebox - Intelligent Bandwidth Control http://www.bettercgi.com/throttlebox/ Strongbox / Throttlebox affiliate program: http://www.bettercgi.com/affiliates/user/register.php