[Asterisk-Dev] voicemail message number limits

[Nicholas Bachmann]

dking at pimpsoft.com wrote:

>Exactly. I don't agree with that; There is nothing keeping open 
>sourced GPL software from being sold commercially without that as 
>long as the GPL is followed and the source is included when you sell 
>it. I don't like the idea of a company thinking they can sell the 
>work of others and not follow the rules.
>
>Also keep in mind that what digum is doing in that regard is 
>technically _illegal_ since having people sign away there rights 
>  
>
It's completely legal for people to sign  over "there" [sic] rights to 
Digium.  Digium, as the holder of the copyright to all of Asterisk, has 
the right to license Asterisk any way it chooses, whether by the GPL or 
any other license.  Digium, in theory, could one day decide that they'll 
release Asterisk under a BSD license.  This is legal.  Any previous 
Asterisk releases that were GPL are still GPL and can be distributed 
within the limits of the GPL.

>violates the GPL since it _explicitly_ states that all users of the 
>software _must_ have the same rights as the user before and to follow 
>it you _must_ give others the same rights you have.
>  
>
But what Digium is doing is retaining the right to license the same 
Asterisk code in a different way, separate from their GPL obligations.

>I dont agree with violating the GPL or the law, so I will never sign 
>the disclaimer/NDA.
>
It's NOT an NDA or a disclaimer, it's a waiver of sorts.  The source you 
get from CVS is just as GPL as bash or the Linux kernel.  If you still 
don't agree with it, then don't sign it... but please understand what 
you're doing when you choose not to.

Nick