Do vendors need to provide sources, at the customer’s request, for GPL licensed software installed on the hardware they sell?
For example, a vendor sells an IPTV box and pre-installs some proprietary software product which is linked with some GPLed library. As a consequence, the software becomes GPLed itself.
Does the vendor need to provide the source code for it? The vendor doesn’t sell that software, he sells hardware.
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Yes – the GPL says nothing about “selling” software, it talks about distributing.
If you distribute GPL software you have to abide by the licence.
The GPL3 uses a slightly different phrase “convey” – to clear up some different meanings of “distribute” in different jurisidictions
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In short, yes. When it was revealed that some of the more popular wireless routers were using an open source core, (without the vendors publishing the source) many people were up in arms about it. If the software is being redistributed outside of your company, the GPL takes effect.
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In short: Yes, as it is states in the reference: “The GPL is the first copyleft license for general use, which means that derived works can only be distributed under the same license terms.” – reference is here.
The long answer is that you should read the terms of the GPL and see whether what you’re doing constitutes distribution and what your responsibilities are.
The short answer, for most forms of copying GPL’d software, is “yes.”
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