[skalie]

Howdy,

My first attempt at freelancing has gone like this.....

I see an add for someone needing a php programmer, I apply, he send me a "script" and some server details.

The "script" seems to have been directly ftp'd down from a working site, all the config.inc.php details are in place, there's a trail of previous users, at least three, and even an address of someone who has registered a url to use the thing ( in the "backup" folder )

So I get to work ( I'm earning peanuts for this btw, trying to get my foot in the door ) and find that it's a piece of antique freeware issued under the GPL.

Now as far as I can tell there has been a copywrite infringement as the "LICENCE.txt" was missing, as were the INSTALL.txt etc., etc.,

The website where the files came from is online without any coprwrite credits for the author of the script. The original authors site is offline, although I have have managed to procure a "clean" and more up to date version of the code.

Here's the crunch, the guy who bought the script paid "hundreds" for it.

I think he deserves his money back.

Comments?

[Chuckit]

It sounds like he was ripped off for sure, but there's nothing really improper about selling GPL code. It's allowed. If the guy failed to include the license, then he was in violation of the GPL, but that's a different matter.

[Millennium]

If there was no license given then this was indeed a GPL violation, and the guy deserves his money back since he was sold stolen goods. However, in and of itself there is nothing wrong with selling GPL'd software as long as you comply with the license. The FSF stops just short of outright encouraging the practice, in fact.