Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: ksh and System 5
Keywords: ksh korn licensing system 5
Message-ID: <673@auspex.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 88 22:13:35 GMT
References: <1575@ssc.UUCP>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 20


 >I thought system 5 was either public domain or at least part of the 
 >standard system 5 release.  I was just told by someone at Everex that
 >AT&T told them that they could not distribute ksh with their system 5
 >port unless they license it as well.

I shall assume that your first reference to "system 5" should be to "the
Korn shell" instead; System V is definitely not public domain, but is
defintiely part of the standard System V release :-).

The Korn shell is based on the Bourne shell, and is not public domain;
it is also not part of the standard System V release.  Last I'd heard,
you have to get binary licensing rights from AT&T in order to distribute
it in binary form; at that time, the licensing fee was a one-time fee of
somewhere around US$20,000.

 >Microport includes ksh.  Anyone know the facts behind the rumors?

Microport presumably paid the fee in question, and is either passing it
on as part of the licensing fee or just swallowed it.