-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 11:15:23PM +0200, Wouter van Ooijen wrote:
> > What is the difference between 1) a (non-employee) programmer who develops
> > modifications to GPL code under an NDA (which seems to be ok), 2) a company
> > employee who receives modified GPL code but may not disclose the
> > modifications to anyone outside the company (which seems also to be ok),
> > and 3) a client of the company who receives modified GPL code under an NDA
> > that says that he may not disclose the modifications to anyone (which seems
> > not to be ok)?
> 
> 1) and 2) are legally operating as part of the company, 3) is not.
> 
> I think that for case 2), the external programmer could not legally 
> provide the modified code to his own company, not even to himself 
> working for his own company.

The GPL3 has language specificly making case 1 and 2 explicitly allowed:

You may convey covered works to others for the sole purpose of having
them make modifications exclusively for you, or provide you with
facilities for running those works, provided that you comply with the
terms of this License in conveying all material for which you do not
control copyright.  Those thus making or running the covered works for
you must do so exclusively on your behalf, under your direction and
control, on terms that prohibit them from making any copies of your
copyrighted material outside their relationship with you.


But as you say, the modified source must be entierly for the use of the
entity that is having the source modified on it's behalf.

3 however is still disallowed as it would allow a company to effectively
"sell" a modified work of software to "clients" who could not make
changes too it, exactly the sort of thing the GPL is supposed to prevent
in the first place.

- -- 
http://petertodd.org 'peter'[:-1]@petertodd.org 
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFIKiVE3bMhDbI9xWQRAhScAJ9enpwnZxeDdUTDSbzeE4tXPuZAMgCggOdv
RBH3kDnt06LBrrIA+9KFPXc=
=iCDs
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist