[JDEV] BusinessChat is violating the GNU General Public Licescene.

[Justin Georgeson]

All he was saying is that just because it looks the same doesn't mean 
it's derivative work. And he's right, or would you have us believe that 
all the linux ICQ clients that look like the Mirabilis ICQ client are 
therefore stealing code and violating the Mirabilis's license? He didn't 
say that they weren't stealing the code, just that looking the same 
isn't proof that they are.

He's also right about what you are required to do by the GPL. Last time 
I checked, you don't have to offer the source code for a free download. 
You have to provide source code, on request, at a cost which does not 
exceed media and shipping charges (a blank CDR and postage).

SARADHI wrote:
> Hi Chris,
> 
> See the answer of Colin Holywell" , author of ColinJabber client to me.
> 
> *"BusinessChat is violating the GNU General Public Licescene.  I am in 
> Canada here and for some reason I can not reach that website?  What they 
> are doing is illegal.  I have been getting lots of email about it but I 
> have never seen the website or the messenger."*
> 
> So ur view of "There's really only so many ways to make a client
> look (WinJab looks like Exodus looks like Yahoo IM, etc). So with
> bchat's "Business Chat" IM looking like ColinJab that doesn't
> automatically mean that they copied it. Maybe they copied the look of
> it, who knows. " is not correct.
> 
> Bye
> 
>  */jdev-request at jabber.org/* wrote:
> 
> 
>     Message: 15
>     Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 10:00:03 -0700
>     From: Chris Wilkes
>     To: jdev at jabber.org
>     Subject: Re: [JDEV] Regarding the GPL and commercial products
>     Reply-To: jdev at jabber.org
> 
>     On Fri, Sep 20, 2002 at 08:35:28AM -0700, SARADHI wrote:
>      >
>      > Can the application that results from the additions or modifications
>      > can be sold as a Commercial Product and still mentioning the users
>      > that we r using Jabber open standard technology ???
> 
>     I believe that anyone can take the GPLed code, add their mods, and then
>     resell it *provided that they provide the source code to it*. Kinda like
>     RedHat does with its linux distro.
> 
>     Not that you insinuated that this is the case, but it should be pointed
>     out that the FAQ point for Jabber licensing:
>     http://www.jabber.org/faq.html#AEN59
>     makes it clear that 'jabber' is ! a protocol standard, like http,
>     and you
>     can make a proprietary client all you want, like the IE browser.
> 
>     There's another question in Saradhi's post and that is "GPLing" the look
>     and feel of a client. There's really only so many ways to make a client
>     look (WinJab looks like Exodus looks like Yahoo IM, etc). So with
>     bchat's "Business Chat" IM looking like ColinJab that doesn't
>     automatically mean that they copied it. Maybe they copied the look of
>     it, who knows. It would be interesting to see if an author of a GPLed
>     work can force someone to reveal their source code (didn't this happen
>     with a DVD player recently?)
> 
>     Chris
> 
> 
>     --__--__--
> 
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> 
>     End of jdev Digest
> 
> 
> 
> ****
> 
> *U.V.N.PARDHA SARADHI*
> 
> *Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. 
> If you love what you are doing, you will be successful*
> 
> 
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-- 
Justin Georgeson
UnBound Technologies, Inc.
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