[ILUG] The old CD thread again {RHEL this time}

[Conor Daly]

On Thu, Sep 01, 2005 at 06:01:08AM +0100 or so it is rumoured hereabouts, 
Paul Jakma thought:
> On Wed, 31 Aug 2005, Conor Daly wrote:
> 
> >What I understood was that, while a purchaser of RHEL was required 
> >to have an RHN subscription for each machine on which they ran 
> >RHEL,
> 
> Hmm, that's not quite correct AIUI:
> 
> - You never really purchase RHEL, you buy the support contract

You buy a redhat network (RHN) subscription
 
> - You do not need a RH support contract to run RHEL (RHEL is GPL
>   apparently, according to RH[1])

But you are supposed to have an RHN subscription for each host running
RHEL.
 
> >they could install it on a machine outside of their company without 
> >a subscription being required for that machine.  Can anyone confirm 
> >if that is correct or where I might have heard of it?
> 
> Who is obligated to report their "Installed Systems" to RedHat and 
> pay accordingly? That person or entity is obligated regardless of 
> where they install RHEL, I suspect.
> 
> Eg, if Joe, a sole trader, installs RHEL in his shop, then takes a 
> copy home and installs it, it seems plausible to me he's obligated to 
> report both copies to RedHat under his support agreement.

This is what I'm not sure about.

According to: http://www.redhat.com/renew/faq.html

	"6. If I don't renew, can I continue to use the software?

	Yes, under the General Public License (GPL), you may use the
	software and maintain your own custom version of Linux. However,
	you will not have access to:

	    * Technical support from Red Hat.
	    * Security or software updates via Red Hat Network. You will
	have to find updates from alternative resources that provide
	reliable, secure downloads.
	    * Support from certified hardware suppliers or software
	vendors like Oracle for applications running on an expired Red Hat
	Enterprise Linux subscription.
	    * Coverage from the Red Hat Open Source Assurance program,
	featuring an Intellectual Property Warranty for Red Hat Enterprise
	Linux customers.  Red Hat designed the program to protect
	customers using open source solutions.

	Please note that when your subscription expires you will still be
	bound by the terms and conditions of the End User License
	Agreement and will have to remove all copies of Red Hat Network
	Code."

And, AIUI, the RHN subscription is valid only if you have a subscription
for each host running RHEL in your organisation.  This appears to allow
Joe to install a copy at home without an RHN subscription without
violating his business's RHN subscription terms.
 
> OTOH if Joe, CEO of ACME Corp, finally gets sick of SeattleCorps' 
> software and decides to sign a deal (in the name of ACME Corp) with 
> RH for RHEL, then he can take copies[1] home and install them.

Why is this different?
 
> Can RedHat not answer these questions? ;)

Possibly, must ask.
 
> 1. The one issue is that some RPMs on RHEL contain copyrighted images 
> which you may not distribute. RedHat are kind enough to list those 
> and they are (apparently) "REDHAT-LOGOS" and "anaconda-images". You 
> must replace these RPMs with your own RPMs. Other than those two RPMs 
> RedHat licence RHEL under the GPL as a collective work (iirc).

Which is, AIUI, what CentOS and others do.

OTOH, Rick Moen's http://linuxmafia.com/faq/RedHat/rhel-isos.html says:

	"I think you're referring to clause 2 in the EULA, which is very
	trickily tied into (a maximalist observance of) Red Hat's
	trademark rights.

	 Intellectual Property Rights. The Software and each of its
	components, including the source code, documentation, appearance,
	structure and organization are owned by Red Hat and others and are
	protected under copyright and other laws. Title to the Software
	and any component, or to any copy, modification, or merged portion
	shall remain with the aforementioned, subject to the applicable
	license.  The "Red Hat" trademark and the "Shadowman" logo are
	registered trademarks of Red Hat in the U.S.  and other countries.
	This agreement does not permit Customer to distribute the Software
	using Red Hat's trademarks. Customer should read the information
	found at http://www.redhat.com/about/corporate/trademark/ before
	distributing a copy of the Software, regardless of whether it has
	been modified. If Customer makes a commercial redistribution of
	the Software, unless a separate agreement with Red Hat is executed
	or other permission granted, then Customer must modify the files
	identified as "REDHAT-LOGOS" and "anaconda-images" to remove all
	images containing the "Red Hat" trademark or the "Shadowman" logo.
	Merely deleting these files may corrupt the Software.

	So, Red Hat, Inc. are saying that they condition your right to
	commercially redistribute the copyrighted images they speak of on
	your compliance with the trademark policy policy viewable on their
	Web site --- which states conditions above and beyond those
	actually required by trademark law. Note that they place no such
	condition on non-commercial distribution.  "

However, 'rpm -qi redhat-logos' on an RHEL3 system returns:

	"License: Copyright © 1999-2002 Red Hat, Inc.  All rights
	 reserved."

Which, presumably, ties redistribution of these logos to a software EULA
or common copyright law.  Also, their
http://www.redhat.com/f/pdf/corp/trademark1.pdf makes a distinction
between "Red Hat® Linux" and "Red Hat® Enterprise Linux" and grants
trademark permissions to "an educational institution, a not-for-profit
organization, a user group, or an individual affiliated with or employed
by any of those organizations" for "non-commercial redistribution of Red
Hat® Linux® in the form you" originally obtained it.  This is explicit
about "Red Hat® Linux only" and so presumably covers RH6.2, RH9 etc but
not RHEL.  That suggests that redistribution of RHEL ISOs is limited to
that allowed under copyright law (and trademark law if commercial).

Conor
-- 
Conor Daly <conor.daly at oceanfree.net>

Domestic Sysadmin :-)
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