SellingOOo

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Category:Draft marketing ideas and materials

Draft marketing documents index

FAQ: Is it Legal to sell OpenOffice.org Software?

The short answer: Yes

OpenOffice.org software is licensed under LGPL free software licence. With certain restrictions, this means that people are free to sell the software on CD-ROM, via downloads, via eBay or any other way they choose, for whatever price people are willing to pay. The vendor is under no legal obligation to give any of the proceeds of sale to the OpenOffice.org Community.

The Rules

This is provided for guidance only - if you want legal advice, please consult a qualified legal professional

Legally, sellers must:

  • include a copy of the LGPL with the software
  • state where the source code for OpenOffice.org may be obtained. They can provide this themselves or refer to http://www.openoffice.org
  • obtain our permission before using our registered trademark OpenOffice.org on a commercial site
  • comply with any consumer rights legislation in the appropriate jurisdiction

Community Distributors

We encourage reputable CD-ROM sellers to register with us as Community Distributors so we can list them on our website as a service to potential buyers. Please check with the vendor that their CDs meet your requirements before you order.

Detailed FAQs

I've just paid for OpenOffice.org and now I've discovered I could have downloaded it for free

You may have a claim under local consumer rights legislation but it's unlikely. Sorry, we aren't lawyers.

I've just paid for OpenOffice.org and the seller hasn't sent me anything

You probably do have a claim under local consumer rights legislation. Again, we aren't lawyers.

I've just paid for XYZ Office (insert name) and it's really OpenOffice.org

As long as the vendor hasn't broken any of the rules, they aren't doing anything wrong.

I've just been ripped off by one of your Community Distributors

Please send full details to mailto:cdrom@distribution.openoffice.org and we'll see what we can do to help. However, OpenOffice.org does not endorse any of Community Distributors nor do we guarantee the contents of the CDs they sell.

Isn't this all very unfair?

We don't like it when people make use of our software as a means of ripping people off. We don't like it when people make use of what the Community has produced and don't donate anything back to the Community.

So please help us - tell everyone about OpenOffice.org. Encourage them to come directly to us. Share your copy of the software with them. The more people know about OpenOffice.org, then the fewer people there are for unscrupulous sellers to target.

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