[ILUG] [OT] GPL and non-disclosure agreements

[lbedford at wbtsystems.com]

On Wed, May 17, 2000 at 04:33:20PM +0200, McDaid, Aaron wrote:
> Liam said:
> > Hmm, I'm not convinced on this matter... GPL doesn't 
> > guarantee that you have to give someone the program.
> > So, giving it to people in  the company for internal
> > use should be okay. The company can then restrict who
> > you can give the software to... so I couldn't give it
> > to someone outside the company.
> All the GPL says is that if you give someone a
> program that uses GPLed code then the recipient is
> entitled to source. Can the employer restrict someones
> right for an employee to ask for source?
> Wouldn't that be the same as <insert linux distro co>
> saying "You're not allowed to download this
> unless you agree not to ask for the source"  !!!!
Yes, but what I said was giving the program to someone. If
the GPL considers the company as an entity (and remember, the
companies machines, and even the email you send in work, are
property of work), then I don't think distribution comes into it.
The company then also makes you sign to say you won't give the
software to anyone outside the company. Same as they generally
don't let their employees give out internal documents..
> 
> Also, if a binary were to leak out to me (eg. just a
> member of the public) couldn't I just say "I don't care
> what happened internally, the original version of this
> is GPLed and I have the binary, hand over the source)
I don't think so. You're entitled to source from the person
who gave you the software, and I suspect if it leaked, the
person would suddenly lose access to the source (if you made
a fuss about not having got the source). It's really a question
of which comes first, the companies contract with you, or the GPL
on the software. Then again, the GPL hasn't been testing in court
yet...
> 
> > Maybe this is something *RMS* and Bruce Perens are
> > working on for GPL v3.. I know there are some major
> > problem with object technologies and the GPL (it's
> > insiduous, so CORBA objects under GPL could force
> > other software into being GPL as well..)
> 
> How would you do this. Does CORBA count as use or
> linking? I would think the DMCA would be needed to
> enforce that!
That's why they're fixing the GPL. Read the /. interview
with RMS (if you can face his constant Open Source vs FSF bickering)

L.
-- 
Liam Bedford                  | What we've got here is, failure to
System Administrator          | communicate. Some man you just can't
WBT Systems, Block 2,         | reach... so you get what we had
Harcourt Centre, Harcourt St. | here last week, which is the way
01-4170100                    | he wants it.