Software licenses and releasing Python programs for review

[Mike Meyer]

Steve Holden <steve at holdenweb.com> writes:
> But this would only be a restriction if the code were to be
> redistributed, of course. It's stil perfectly legal to use it
> internaly without making the modified source available.

I've heard people argue otherwise on this case. In particular, if you
allow an employee to use your GPL'ed-but-not-distributed software,
they are the end user, and have all the rights granted by the GPL. So
they can distribute the software - possibly to your
competitors. Employment contracts can't prohibit this, because the GPL
specifically disallows "distribution" (allowing your employee to use
the software) under licenses that restrict the rights granted by the
GPL.

I don't know whether this would hold water in court. I'd certainly
hate to be the one responsible for a company finding out the hard way.

     <mike

-- 
Mike Meyer <mwm at mired.org>			http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/
Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information.