[Discuss] Fwd: Hey FCC, Don't Lock Down Our Wi-Fi Routers | WIRED

[Robert Krawitz]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 12:29:36 -0500, Rich Pieri wrote:
> On 11/9/2015 11:56 AM, Jack Coats wrote:
>> Selling solutions using OSS software is not easy.  It can be done but
>> it seems to take extra effort.
>
> All true, but I didn't say you can't try sell GPL software or try to
> sell services built on GPL software. I said you can't make a profit
> from trying to sell GPL software. So I ask again: what is dishonest
> about this statement?

Red Hat, for example, sold boxed CD's/DVD's for quite a while,
presumably at at least a small profit.  If you want to argue that the
real value was in the support, whatever, but the fact remains that you
could go into a store and buy Red Hat boxed distributions.

Nothing in the GPL restricts what you can charge for selling the
software in the first place.  It's only the accompanying source code
that you have to provide for no more than the actual cost of the
distribution.
-- 
Robert Krawitz                                     <rlk at alum.mit.edu>

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