Am I allowed to use Linux Distros as a part of a start-up business?
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The legal strictures concerning Linux have to do with the software, itself. The various parts of Linux are copyrighted material, and the rule is that you cannot make "derivative works" from them that you then start to charge money for.
No, that's not what it says in the GPL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GPL FAQ
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.)
Does the GPL allow me to require that anyone who receives the software must pay me a fee and/or notify me?
You can charge people a fee to get a copy from you. You can't require people to pay you when they get a copy from someone else.
This also applies to any modified programs that you make, because a modified GPL program is still a GPL program.
If you use an open-source program as the basis for one of your own, then there are rules: with the Gnu licence, you must make your own open-source as well.
That is assuming that you distribute the result. If you do not distribute the binary, then there's no obligation to distribute the source either.
Another item of note here is if the software in question was modified from an existing GPL'd program (or perhaps even just code.) From what I see here, if I understand it correctly, the modified program must follow the conditions of the GPL, as well. Linux software that was not released under the GPL would be regulated by the license that it was released under, if any.
Regards...
Last edited by ardvark71; 03-30-2017 at 03:10 AM.
Reason: Added comment.
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