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Can I Distribute This?

Posted by Cliff on from the traversing-the-legal-minefield dept.

erikharrison asks: "LormaLinux is one of several emerging desktop oriented Linux distros. It comes prepackaged with the Flash Plugin, Real Player, and Yahoo IM. Is this legal? The Flash EUL agreement does allow free redistribution, but only of the Mac and Windows version, I can't seem to find a EULA for Linux version of Real Player, and can't even find the Linux version of YIM to check for licence issues. Do these distros know something I don't? And if not, am I only going to cause grief if I go to the software OEM and ask for a redistributable licence for my own project?"

3 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. Flash: no, Real: no, YIM: no by Cpyder · · Score: 5, Informative
    Flash Plugin:
    Check: http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/macromedia/

    " This is the official mirror system of Macromedia Linux packages.
    With permission from Macromedia we take their software and package
    it in Linux friendly ways (RPM, DEB, ebuild). These packages are
    made available for manual download, apt-get, urpmi, or emerge.

    Macromedia's EULA forbids repackaging and/or redistribution of
    their software so please do not mirror this repository.
    Please point your apt-get or urpmi to one of these official
    mirrors of this site, as they will be permanent."

    Apparently you can either try to ask MM for another exception, or you can make your distribution download the packages from this site. It's maintained by Warren Togami of Fedora.us-fame.

    Real Player

    You might want to ask the folks at helixsupport.org, and read the licenses over there.

    Yahoo IM

    When you go to messenger.yahoo.com, click on Unix and check the RPM you see that the license is "proprietary". You can contact them at messenger-unix-support@yahoo-inc.com, maybe they can give you more info.

    As for the distributions which include it, like Lycoris, I suppose they've all gotten permission from the authors/owners of this products.

  2. Simple Answer by MrResistor · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you don't have a license that specificly says you can redistrubute, you can't! "Redistribution" is basicly publishing, and so it would be covered by basic copyright law.

    --
    Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
  3. Some common sense... by aulendil · · Score: 4, Informative
    A crash course in copyright law:
    1.     Unless stated otherwise, you aren't allowed to copy a copyrighted work!
    2. But it says copyrighted!
    Yes, the right of making copies granted to the author.

    And now, you wouldn't blatantly copy a book giving away free copies. Why would you do otherwise with software.

    So, unless clearly stated, you can't redistribute any copyrighted work.