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Licensing Question

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JeffT
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Licensing Question

I'm curious - our business already sells USB keys as a little add-on/promotional product. Would we be permitted to preload USB keys with the PortableApps suite of software? If so, could we advertise the fact that our keys contain this software?

If this is permitted, but only for some types of licenses, which type of product license guidelines would permit such a thing?

Thanks

John T. Haller
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Partnering

You'll be able to partner at multiple levels shortly. You can partner at the free level and include the PortableApps.com Suite as long as no changes are made. At the higher level, you can customize the theme, add your logo, add custom apps, work together in advertising and share in software revenue. You can contact us via email on the contact page for more information.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

ralmon
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Contact email

Does anyone monitor business_development? I've sent 3 emails there without any responses (specifically on 30 Apr 08, 31 Jul 09, and 6 Sep 09.

It may be moot now, John, since your response above seems to answer my basic question on pre-loading at least a basic set of apps, without a special license, onto flash drives should a buyer so desire.

Is there anything else one might need to do to make sure proper attribution is done?

Is there any further information on pricing for pre-loading a set of apps different from the basic suite?

Cheers,
Ray

John T. Haller
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this week

Drop a new email mentioning this thread and I'll ensure you get an answer this week.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

ralmon
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Will do...

...done.

Thanks,
Ray

ralmon
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Sorry to harp on this...

...but I still haven't received an answer.

jamcomm
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Almost, but not quite

Sorry - that's not entirely true, John - the licence for the portableapps suite is the MPL/GPL

If JeffT really wants to charge for installing it, he's free to do so (in the case of GPL'd software, this is explicitly covered by the GPL licence FAQ!)

digitxp
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Trademark

John is also very big on trademarking, so you would have to remove all the artwork and rename everything (including Firefox, Thunderbird, and Sunbird) that has trademarks.
Of course, nobody is really big on doing all that :(.

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jamcomm
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Trivial in well written systems

Rebranding any any decently written program is trivial - just replace the artwork (i.e. the images) and any references to the brand name (i.e. simple tweaks to the codebase; if the original source is implemented sensibly, this should only be a handful of resourcestrings, though at worst is just a grep/replace exercise).

Not rocket science! The kind of thing a highschool kid could do for pocket money in fact...

(Although you might want someone slightly more professional to create replacement artwork - though that's hardly expensive either)

NathanJ79
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Clarification

John T. HallerYou can partner at the free level and include the PortableApps.com Suite as long as no changes are made.

Quite obviously, I am not in the position to bundle the PortableApps.com Suite on flash drives and sell them; however I would like to ask for clarification on one point:

Since most of the apps in the Suite are outdated, would a "free level" reseller/partner be allowed to update the apps to the latest version, make an image with that, and pre-load all flash drives with that, or must they use the Suite, as-is, with the apps outdated?

OliverK
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I'm gonna guess that they

I'm gonna guess that they should use it as-is, or only update with the official released versions here. Else we run into a quality issue, and the site is very very good about quality.

Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

jamcomm
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The portableapps.com suite is open source software - by definition you can do this!

You can even modify, tweak and change it to use your own branding if you want!

And all COMPLETELY FREE! (Except for the effort in actually doing so!)

(Subject to releasing your changes under a similar licence - though that shouldn't be a problem!)

John T. Haller
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incorrect

As discussed before, the gpl and mpl do not give trademark rights, so only certain things are permitted. We've talked about this in more than one thread, so you are aware of this. Please keep your overzealous disagreements out of this thread.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

jamcomm
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Please read what it written before replying

As mentioned in my previous post - there is nothing to prevent anyone from taking GPL'd software, rebranding it, and rereleasing it - and charging for the modified version as long as the GPL is complied with.

If you don't fully understand the licence, please check the GNU WWW site, which has a newbie's guide and FAQ which you should be able to learn from.

Tim Clark
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#begin endless loop
# Begin endless loop
while PortableApps.com_SURRENDER == False:
print jamcomm_get_Opinion()
# Estimated time to completion; 525960000000000 milliseconds

Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?

brum74
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LOL

How can there be an estimated time to completion if it is an endless loop? Wink Infinite would make the most sense here but point well said.

Once you go portable...

qwertymodo
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How can there be an estimated

How can there be an estimated time to completion if it is an endless loop?

That's how long the server can take it until the loop consumes all available memory and crashes. Wink

[Edit] Just crunched some numbers, and that's something like 16,667 years, so either I'm wrong or that's one heckuva robust system Blum

Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.

OliverK
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Awesome. And you said you

Awesome.

And you said you couldn't code Blum

Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

digitxp
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Legal Stuff again...

You can even modify, tweak and change it to use your own branding if you want!

Wow, the new blockquotes are fun.
You have to change it to use your own branding. The software (i.e.,launchers and programs) is under GPL, the branding/logos/names are not.
[Edit]
John beat me.

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solanus
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One more thing

I believe that thirty-eight exclamation points is insufficient?? WHEN trying to school JTH on the "legalities" OF a question# that has been asked, ExAMiNEd and answered many times in the past?!(0)%!&!!....

*URP*

I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.

Pyromaniac
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Please correct me if I'm wrong

So, what i'm understanding is that you can(?) redistribute the apps as long as you remove all the logos and trademarks etc. belonging to PortableApps.com and/or(?) the original publisher? And charge? I thought that it was illegal to charge for open source software(?).

---

And on a side note, in my 50 weeks and 6 days as a member of PA, this is the most (vicious?) and (moody?) post I've ever seen.

@#=$%^+&*()?>_

Tim Clark
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Pyromaniac

Please note that you have responded to/commented on the Original Post / Topic.

As it is not a vicious or moody Topic/OP I think you meant to respond to one of the Comments or replies.

Due to the nature of the digression of this Topic we should try to be clear as to whom we are saying what to Sad

Tim

Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?

Pyromaniac
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oh

now that I read it again, I see what you mean. My bad.

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