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The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
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<br>Chapter 13 - Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product
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<h2><a name="s-sellcds"></a>13.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?</h2>
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Go ahead. You do not need permission to distribute anything we have
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<em>released</em>, so that you can master your CD as soon as the beta-test
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ends. You do not have to pay us anything. Of course, all CD manufacturers
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must honor the licenses of the programs in Debian. For example, many of the
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programs are licensed under the GPL, which requires you to distribute their
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Also, we will publish a list of CD manufacturers who donate money, software,
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and time to the Debian project, and we will encourage users to buy from
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manufacturers who donate, so it is good advertising to make donations.
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<h2><a name="s-packagednonfree"></a>13.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?</h2>
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Yes. While all the main components of Debian are free software, we provide a
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non-free directory for programs that are not freely redistributable.
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CD manufacturers <em>may</em> be able to distribute the programs we have placed
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in that directory, depending on the license terms or their private arrangements
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with the authors of those software packages. CD manufacturers can also
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distribute the non-free software they get from other sources on the same CD.
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This is nothing new: free and commercial software are distributed on the same
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CD by many manufacturers now. Of course we still encourage software authors to
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release the programs they write as free software.
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<h2><a name="s-childistro"></a>13.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a "vertical market". Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?</h2>
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Yes. Debian-derived distributions are being created both in close cooperation
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with the Debian project itself and by external parties. One can use the
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<code><a href="http://cdd.alioth.debian.org/">Custom Debian
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Distributions</a></code> framework to work together with Debian; <code><a
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href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a></code> is one such project.
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One person is building a "Linux for Hams" distribution, with
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specialized programs for Radio Amateurs. He is starting with Debian as the
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"base system", and adding programs to control the transmitter, track
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satellites, etc. All of the programs he adds are packaged with the Debian
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packaging system so that his users will be able to upgrade easily when he
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releases subsequent CDs.
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There are several other Debian-derived distributions already on the market,
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such as Progeny Debian, Linspire, Knoppix and Ubuntu, that are targeted at a
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different kind of audience than the original Debian GNU/Linux is, but use most
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of our components in their product.
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Debian also provides a mechanism to allow developers and system administrators
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to install local versions of selected files in such a way that they will not be
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overwritten when other packages are upgraded. This is discussed further in the
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question on <a href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert">How do I override a file
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installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?,
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<h2><a name="s-commercialdebs"></a>13.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian "package" so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?</h2>
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Go right ahead. The package tool is free software; the packages may or may not
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be free software, it can install them all.
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The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
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version 3.1.5, 17 January 2007<br>
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Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>