Is it legal to sell the portableapps.com platform on ebay?
Someone posted it on IRC and I thought I ask here.
I think it is legal as long as you find someone dumb enough to pay for something that is free 
PS: And hey, they have more than 10 pieces in stock! 
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The code is open source under a license which permits selling it.
If they're changing the branding completely, they're fine. However, if they're changing our branding partially, that's probably not legal. The main picture they have features altered branding in a way which I don't think would be legal, but it's also an old version whereas what they have at the bottom which merely cuts off the top part looks to be a more modern version. Without getting a copy of it though I can't comment on whether it's legal or not. But parts of the listing are bad.
I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
This would mean that they have to supply the source with the app, if they won't make it available, they could be shut down on that basis alone. Anyone got US$4.25 to spare?
Otherwise, without spending anything someone could ask the seller if the source is provided with the app.
PS: They are also trying to sell Inkscape and a number of other OS apps.
10 bucks says nope. Based on the info and screenshots, it looks like there's a lot of issues with what he's selling.
This was posted on the IRC channel a while ago. I've already reported them on eBay since then, and they're still there >_
If something is illegal law enforcement, lawyers and judges get involved. If they don't it indicates the activity isn't as illegal as someone thinks. imo
And I don't think there are any lawyers here, so...
Ed
If a man takes your wallet, but you don't call the cops, does that mean that no law has been broken?
EDIT:FTR, I'm referring to the comment "If something is illegal law enforcement, lawyers and judges get involved." Illegality is not defined by the vigilance of the authorities, it's defined by the act of violating a law.
As for the person on eBay:
If this person is violating the licensing of any of the software involved, then it's illegal. Check out this article on Enforcing the GNU GPL, written by a Columbia Law Professor:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/enforcing-gpl.html
But there is a more effective self-correcting solution to this. This eBay seller is selling all kinds of free stuff, and he's only gotten a few suckers. Sooner or later, he's gonna accumulate enough bad feedback to make him toxic.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Guys, he's not offering a flash drive with the PA.c platform, he's offering a digital download.
If somebody who knew what they were doing (i.e. a lawyer) made a purchase, that person could give the seller all kinds of hell. For starters, they sold something that wasn't theirs to start with, though the licensing might actually allow them to do so. I don't know.
The GPL license allows you to sell open source software, so the seller is not breaking any laws in that regard.
It is a matter of whether he/she/they have modified the source (the images indicate a change in source, unless the images are just edited screencaps) and are not making the resulting source open, which is therefore a breach of license, or as Chris said above, if they are distributing the platform with partially altered branding (once again, we don't know if it is altered branding, or edited screencaps), which would therefore be a breach of copyright.
And whether it is a digital download or the platform distributed on a physical drive does not change the illegality of it if either of the above has been done by the seller.
Notice how he's distributing Firefox in the package? I doubt he got permission for the icon/name. Notice how the PA.c's logo is still there? I doubt John would allow that.
It don't matter what the actual license on the code is. If something's trademarked, you still can't do nothing without permission, or replacing the image/name.
I am almost sure he just edited the screenshots in order to make it more difficult for "prospective buyers" to find the stuff themselves. He did the same for other software (for example for the free "Doc convertor" he's also selling) and I don't think he would take that much trouble for getting a few bucks. So the only trademark violation was done by editing the screenshot.
No typin th las lette ca sav yo plent o spac
The seller has removed the listing. I had sent him a message that he was selling something that was already free, without proper credit and using screenshots that obscured the logo, and he gave me some lame excuse about how he was selling a GUIDE, and also his TIME.
Whatever.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.