Need legal advice re: Redhat enterprise linux

[stevenerat at yahoo.com (Steven Erat)]

> Because I signed up for the Redhat update service last year, and Redhat
> 9 support will end this month, Redhat has given me access to the Redhat
> Enterprise Linux and Redhat Workstation Linux binaries and source.
> 
> I'm looking for someone who can examine the licenses and tell me which
> portions of this software are GPL and which are not. 
> 
> TIA.
> 
> Bill


Although I can't answer your question, I have recently read the  RHEL
license agreement and found that I also had this very question.  

Appendix 1 to the RHEL license states that "Red Hat grants to the user a
license to this collective work pursuant to GNU General Public License",
where the collective work is defined as the Software.  The Software is
defined in Appendix 1 part 1, and I think it can be loosely summarized at
the distribution itself composed of the colletive software packages minus
the trademarked logos.  Each package itself does have its own EULA as
well.  The interesting part of Appendix 1 part 1 is "With the exception of
certain [logos], the license terms for the components permit Customer to
copy, modify, and redistribute the component, in both source code and
binary code forms."

Now where the RHEL license is confusing to me is  Section I Part 4,
Reporting and Audit.  This paragraph indicates that Red Hat can audit the
Customer once per year with a 10 day advance notice.  If the customer is
found to have under reported the number of installed systems, then the
customer must pay for that number times the annual service fee.  If the
under reporting is  more than 5%, then the customer will have to pay that
number of systems times the annual fee plus an extra 20% to compenseate RH
for "liquidated damages".

I know that the GPL permits an initial charge for to compensate for the
packaging and distribution costs, but after that I don't understand how a
product licensed under the GPL can can invoke additional fees if the
Software is installed on additional systems.  

I'm eager to hear anyone who can proffer that explanation.

-Steven Erat



	
		
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