GPL 3 May Require Websites to Relinquish Code

Vicissidude writes "At present, companies that distribute GPL-licensed software must make the source code publicly available, including any modifications they've made. Though the rule covers many businesses that use GPL-licensed software for commercial ends, it doesn't cover Web companies that use such software to offer their services through the Web, as they're not actually distributing the software. GPL 3, the next version of the free software license, a draft of which is expected to be released in early 2006, may close this loophole, GPL author and Free Software Foundation head Richard Stallman said in an interview."

Comments

Search Millions Lines of Open Source Code

[matthewchen]

There are tens of thousands of open source projects, how to look for the code is a difficult task. Codase (http://www.codase.com gets a solution for that. It understands the source code and you can search for meanings in the source.

Re:Close another loophole?

[halleluja]

That 3rd choice provides the loophole, although it requires two cooperating people to abuse it. PersonA hires PersonB to modify the program, and give him 100s or 1000s of matched discs of binaries and source. PersonA then takes out all the source discs and grinds them into powder, and then sells the binary-only discs to customers.

This exploit will be solved once Vista is out.