samba - Feb 2002 - Licensing question: Using Samba in a medical system

Hello!

We would like to use Samba in a medical system.
It would be used to give to a Windows NT workstation
transparent access to files on a Linux workstation
(file system mapping).
This should be possible by installing Samba without
changing it and as a separate component of the 
overall installation.

Our question: In order to fulfill the licensing requirements,
what would we have to give to our end users? 
Would a commitment in the user manual according to 
section 3b) of the GPL (commitment to provide the 
sources on request) do, or would we have to take other
steps? 

In particular: Would we have to reveal any details of source code
of other components of the systems than Samba?

With kind regards,
    Christoph.

------------------------------
Christoph Taegert-Kilger
Software Project Manager
Christoph.Taegert-Kilger@ssme.siemens.com.cn

Tel: +86 21 65395398 x 350
Fax: +86 21 65436168

Taegert-Kilger Christoph : SSME wrote:
> 
> Hello!
> 
> We would like to use Samba in a medical system.
> It would be used to give to a Windows NT workstation
> transparent access to files on a Linux workstation
> (file system mapping).
> This should be possible by installing Samba without
> changing it and as a separate component of the
> overall installation.
> 
> Our question: In order to fulfill the licensing requirements,
> what would we have to give to our end users?
> Would a commitment in the user manual according to
> section 3b) of the GPL (commitment to provide the
> sources on request) do, or would we have to take other
> steps?
> 
> In particular: Would we have to reveal any details of source code
> of other components of the systems than Samba?
Unless you modify or use Samba's code in your own (unreleased) product,
then no - you are perfectly fine.  See how the GPL distinguishes between
'derivitive works' and 'mere aggrigation'.  Landing the samba
tarball
(and installation scripts for your setup) in a subdir of the
installation CDROM would also provide complience - without the need to
keep track of old verions forever.  Either way, thanks for asking - and
good luck with your product!

The final word on this is the GPL itself - and a competent laywer (which
I am not :-) should give similar advice.  (Also remember to do likewise
for the other GPL system components).

Andrew Bartlett

-- 
Andrew Bartlett                                 abartlet@pcug.org.au
Manager, Authentication Subsystems, Samba Team  abartlet@samba.org
Student Network Administrator, Hawker College   abartlet@hawkerc.net
http://samba.org     http://build.samba.org     http://hawkerc.net

On Tue, 5 Feb 2002, Taegert-Kilger Christoph : SSME wrote:
> Hello!
> 
> We would like to use Samba in a medical system.
> It would be used to give to a Windows NT workstation
> transparent access to files on a Linux workstation
> (file system mapping).
> This should be possible by installing Samba without
> changing it and as a separate component of the 
> overall installation.
> 
> Our question: In order to fulfill the licensing requirements,
> what would we have to give to our end users? 
> Would a commitment in the user manual according to 
> section 3b) of the GPL (commitment to provide the 
> sources on request) do, or would we have to take other
> steps? 
> 
> In particular: Would we have to reveal any details of source code
> of other components of the systems than Samba?
You should really consult a lawyer on this if you are considereing 
shipping Samba in a product.  

The rule of thumb is that (a) you must provide source code for 
a GPL piece of software upon request (including any change you have made 
to it), and (b) and "in process" piece of code not considered to be
part of the shippiong OS must also be released under the GPL.

I'm sure other will chime in as well.  Everyone loves a 
good licensing discussion.




chau, jerry
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