[Asterisk-biz] distribution of asterisk

[trixter aka Bret McDanel]

On Thu, 2005-12-22 at 18:38 -0600, Kevin P. Fleming wrote:
> > But there are other issues as well for example, section um 1? of the gpl
> > requires that when a copyright is displayed (like when you do 'asterisk
> > -r') you state that its GPL licensed (although not all of asterisk is so
> > licensed, some is lgpl like some cdr stuff, some like ilbc doesnt state
> > what license is valid only copyright notices) and that there is no
> > warantee unless one is provided.
> 
> I'm not sure what your question was there... but I believe you are 
> correct that we need to update that copyright/license statement when the 
> CLI is started.
> 

The gpl states that  if you display a copyright you must state that the
program is GPLed (if it so infact is) and that there is no warrantee
(unless there is infact a warantee).

my_shell_prompt# asterisk -r
Asterisk SVN-branch-1.2-r7557M, Copyright (C) 1999 - 2005 Digium.
Written by Mark Spencer <markster at digium.com>
=========================================================================


This is not the case, as such asterisk is in violation of the gpl for
that.  So I have to modify that before I distribute it to avoid
distributing something in violation of the GPL.

Further not all of asterisk is GPL, there are some BSD things, some LGPL
and I have no idea regarding the ilbc codec (copyrights are included in
th source tree but nothing stating what the license is and I havent
looked at ietfs stuff for that).  As such simply disclaiming it as GPL
is misleading at best, worst could be a license violation.

That was my comment, more than a question.


> > I just wanted to know what I had to do to legally distribute asterisk to
> > my customers.
> 
> Well, you need to consult an attorney... but you are one, if I'm not 
> mistaken :-) This area is so fraught with complications that I've been 
> trying to work on a comprehensive review of these issues as they relate 
> to Asterisk, but all my other work has gotten in the way.

Never claimed to be an attorney, just someone who has gone to law
school.  Lawyers in california with less than 5 years experience average
$35,000/year.  That makes it oh so not worth it, even though  there are
bar approved schools in california (one of the stricter bar assc in the
US) for $2,000/year so I guess it offsets somewhere.  But $35,000!!!
Although that is when you get into the 'richest' tax bracket in
california and the group that politicians in california refer to as
'rich' when they want to raise taxes.  It certainly is messed up over
here.

At any rate, I didnt know if anyone had a repository of all the
different licenses involved and what the terms of each license was.  It
doesnt appear that there is, so perhaps I will try to inventory
everything in asterisk and make some kinda check list.  Simply knowing
what licenses are there (I think there are only 4 or 5 in the GPL
version of asterisk) and to which modules (ie a matrix) would be helpful
so if you dont like a license its quick and easy (sorta) to remove the
offending components on a per distribution basis.  Along with the matrix
an itemized list of what all must be done for each license would be a
nice addition as well.  If I have time I will work on that later.  The
matrix should be trivial, basically its GPL unless otherwise noted ...




-- 
Trixter http://www.0xdecafbad.com     Bret McDanel
UK +44 870 340 4605   Germany +49 801 777 555 3402
US +1 360 207 0479 or +1 516 687 5200
FreeWorldDialup: 635378
http://www.sacaug.org/ Sacramento Asterisk Users Group
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