Calling GPLed software proprietary

[David Hyde]

I have this situation here where my company's phone service provider
keeps saying they have created a "custom, proprietary build" of
FreePBX to the point that they won't hardly admit they run FreePBX at
all. They originally tried to sell the execs on the idea that they
had designed this entire phone system from scratch, when truthfully,
they are running an outdated version of stock FreePBX. Absolutely no
custom building has occurred here. Is there any protection for this
sort of thing? Can a company legally get away with calling a GPLed
program their own proprietary program? They won't tell me what
version they are running (even though I know), because they claim it
has no version number since they have created this "custom" build.

[Clemens Ladisch]

Post by David Hyde
I have this situation here where my company's phone service provider
keeps saying they have created a "custom, proprietary build" of
FreePBX to the point that they won't hardly admit they run FreePBX at
all.

Something like this? <http://www.freepbx.org/custom-oem-program>

Post by David Hyde
They originally tried to sell the execs on the idea that they
had designed this entire phone system from scratch, when truthfully,
they are running an outdated version of stock FreePBX. Absolutely no
custom building has occurred here. Is there any protection for this
sort of thing? Can a company legally get away with calling a GPLed
program their own proprietary program?

The law protects the copyright holder from having done this to his
software against his will.

The copyright holder could pursue this, if he wanted to.


Regards,
Clemens

[Ian Stirling]

Post by David Hyde
I have this situation here where my company's phone service provider
keeps saying they have created a "custom, proprietary build" of
FreePBX to the point that they won't hardly admit they run FreePBX at
all.

Is this software running on your hardware, or their own?
If it's running on their own, then there are very, very limited
requirements to say what it is.

*'1 c)* If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
when run, you must cause it, when started running for such interactive
use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an announcement
including an appropriate copyright notice and a notice that there is no
warranty (or else, saying that you provide a warranty) and that users
may redistribute the program under these conditions, and telling the
user how to view a copy of this License. (Exception: if the Program
itself is interactive but does not normally print such an announcement,
your work based on the Program is not required to print an announcement.) '

Note specifically the last bit.
Most of the requirements of the GPL only kick in when they publish or
distribute either source code, or object code.
If they don't, and are running GPL apps as a service on the vendors own
hardware, then the only thing
they have to do is in the above clause - and if freepbx does not usually
do that - they have no
responsibilities at all under the GPL.

There may be contractual issues. For example, if they have sold you the
use of a 'fully custom PBX'
on the basis that they developed it completely in-house, they may not be
meeting their contract.

If it's running on your hardware, then it's likely they have
'distributed' the object file.
This means if they wish to comply with the GPL they have to give you a
copy of the source used to
build it.
If they do not comply with the GPL, they are not complying with the GPL,
and that is an issue between
them and the copyright holders of the program. You have no rights to
obtain the original code, as the
GPL requires them to comply with the GPL to distribute - by distributing
against its terms, they are
essentially distributing an unlicensed copy.