Subject: RE: Sendmail releases open source Sender ID milter for testing

From: "Ryan Malayter" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 13:34:47 -0500

[wayne]
>This seems pretty clear, if you want to rebrand 
>or redistribute the source code, you need to 
>contact MS and get a license.  Sourceforge is
>*not* the implementor, Sendmail is.  Souceforge 
>is just redistributing the source code.  

I personally don't think Sourceforge is a distributor in this case. They
are merely a courier, like FedEx. If I FedEx a CD containing a SenderID
implementation to my buddy across town, does FedEx have to sign the MS
license? Obviously not.

IANAL, of course, so I ask the lawyers out there: is there a strict
legal definition of a "(re)distributor" of software?

	-ryan-

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From: "Harold A'Hole" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 12:29:00 -0700

> implementation to my buddy across town, does FedEx have to sign the MS

Bad analogy.  Sourceforge itself may be a carrier, but whoever runs the
project is the distributor.  And since they are distributing to untold
numbers of folks without any permission required, it is much more broad than
FedEx and its very targeted distribution to the addressee as specified by
the paying party.  Besides, with all of the napster effect, sourceforge
would most certainly be considered a distributor.  They cannot create a
system that makes it easy to share such IP and then claim they have no
responsibility since the entire purpose is to distribute whatever is posted
there.

But in the end, why sign a license for IP that MSFT cannot prove it owns.
It's just an unfounded claim right now unsupported by law.  They must own
the patent first.

Harry

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From: Graham Murray <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 20:36:47 +0100

> implementation to my buddy across town, does FedEx have to sign the MS

I do not think the situation is the same. This would be more like
providing a master CD to FedEx and them duplicating it every time a
customer orders one. FedEx collect and deliver each individual CD, but
Sourceforge create a new copy every time someone performs a download.

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From: Arnt Gulbrandsen <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 22:48:18 +0200

Ryan Malayter writes:
> I personally don't think Sourceforge is a distributor in this case. 
> They are merely a courier, like FedEx. If I FedEx a CD containing a 
> SenderID implementation to my buddy across town, does FedEx have to 
> sign the MS license? Obviously not.
>

If you think offering software downloads to the general public isn't 
redistributing, I dare you to put your Windows CDs on your web site.

Arnt