Quote:
Originally Posted by Requiem
If you will remember the GPL also allows such redistibution and selling of individual distros of Linux for example. What is the great difference here? Why is that ok and it isn't to repackage a PD (which is related, if not in the same ballpark) and sell for a profit?
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Uh, because Linux is not in the public domain? Was that a trick question?
Linux is copyrighted. What the GPL does is grant a distribution license to anybody that is willing to agree to the terms it spells out. You don't need a distribution license for PD material. They're completely different situations.
BTW, most of the time you are not paying for a Linux distribution, you are paying for a support service contract that goes along with it. Charging for the distribution itself would be silly because anybody who bought it from you can turn around and give it away for free. The same is true for PD material. Sure, you can sell it. But anyone who buys it from you can turn around and give it away.