[Samba] Licensing question: Using Samba in a medical system

[Gerald Carter]

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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