Pravin Dhayfule wrote:
<...snip...> Trademark Removal etc are all Programmer Level steps. I am talking from a perspective of Sharing the OS with a neighbor to install on his/her system as it is received..... Will it be piracy?
I think there are a few basic things that you need to understand /before/ you understand the answers to your questions:
a. Unlike the proprietary world, FOSS does not distinguish between developer, user and distributor. Each person receiving FOSS software, has the right to assume any or all of the three roles. There is no 'END USER' (for an ELUA to exist). So from that perspective, you are a distributor if you share something (using a CD, online, pen-drive ...or any media).
b. Piracy is the practice of hijacking a naval vessel and plundering it. Software Piracy is a silly nonsensical term. Software related violations include things like copyright violation, trademark infringement and unfortunately patent violations ...etc.
Now that we've cleared that up, here is a simplified (IMHO) explanation of what everybody already said:
RHEL == Linux Kernel + GPL/BSD/MIT ...etc licensed Software + Red Hat trademarks (artwork etc)
- How must does the RHEL distro cost ? * 0/-
- How does Red Hat make money, if the cost of the RHEL distro is 0 ? * Subscriptions, trainings, consultancy ...and maybe more.
- How is the RHEL distro. distrubuted ? * The sources are available for free on redhat.com and Red Hat provides CDs/DVDs of the distro. to it's customers (people who buy subscriptions or undertake trainings ...etc)
- Can you ask Red Hat to send you a RHEL distro CD if you are not a Red Hat customer ? * No
- Can you download RHEL sources from Red Hat servers ? * Yes
- Can you use the downloaded sources to make a RHEL CD ? * Yes
- Can you distribute (including sharing with your neighbor) the CDs you made ? * Yes ! *IF* you remove all the trademarks from the CDs (so that your neighbour is clear about the fact that what she is getting is *not* coming directly from Red Hat)
- If you have received a CD/DVD from Red Hat (because you are a customer), can you make /exact/ copies of that CD/DVD and distribute it ? * No ! That is trademark violation.
- Instead of making copies, can you use the same CD/DVD you received from Red Hat to install RHEL on more than one systems ? * Yes, you can.
Hope that clarifies everything. If you have more questions, ask here or just contact Red Hat directly :).
cheers, - steve