xulrunner 2.0 in rawhide (F15) bundles several system libs

[Brandon Lozza]

On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 11:14 AM, Rahul Sundaram <metherid at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 8:38 PM, Brandon Lozza  wrote:
>>
>>
>> That's what i've been saying all day. It's only free software if you
>> change the name, in which case you may loose brand recognition.
>> Imagine if Linus forbid people from calling their OS Linux if they
>> didn't use the binaries provided by him.
>
> Free software can require that you can change the name for any modifications
> you make and it still qualifies as free software.  If you are in doubt and
> want to ask FSF, go ahead.   Before you continue with this discussion, I
> strongly suggest you do that.
>
> Rahul
>
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I've already asked Richard Stallman and I am awaiting his reply but
let's just go through a thought exercise.

Let's say I recompile Firefox and make a bunch of my own changes and
REFUSE to change the name. How long do you think it'll take for
Mozilla's lawyers to start threatening me with trademark lawsuits?

Firefox doesn't just include source code. It includes intellectual
property with specific restrictions on what you're allowed to do with
it. This is the same as what ID software does with its games. You can
have the source code for Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory, but that's
just the code. The code is free software. The name, the artwork, the
graphics, music and story are all under copyright and are not licensed
to everyone for distribution. This is the same with Firefox, the code
is free, but the name, the graphics are copyright and are the
intellectual property of MoFo, and not anyone else. They say you can't
distribute modified binaries. How do you get Freedom #3 then? If they
used GPLv3, they would be required to license their trademarks to us
and THEN it would be free software.

I'll refrain from replying further on until I have a reply from
Richard, but you're totally wrong and your love for Firefox is
blinding your principals (if you have any). You would STILL HAVE the
exact SAME firefox if we compiled firefox with the compile time flag
that removes branding. The branding is kept, i'm told, simply to
attract users. Leaving a piece of poorly maintained software to
attract users is silly. And if you or anyone else think Iceweasel is
somehow inferior, you need your brain checked. You don't understand
logic.

Firefox, is ONLY free software when it does not include the
intellectual property that is non free.