OS licence

There is mention of an “OS licence” in two posts from Andrew Rawnsley in this thread. http://www.riscosopen.co.uk/forum/forums/5/topics/786

I’ve tried to find information regarding this on the ROOL site but have not had any luck as yet. Can someone clarify what the situation is regarding licences for using RISC OS 5.17 ROMS on a “DIY” Beagleboard for personal use.

Thanks in advance.

Here is some info:

http://www.riscosopen.org/content/documents/ssfaq

As I understand it, you are free to use RISC OS for personal, and perhaps commercial use. However if you want to use RISC OS in a commercial product, you’ve to pay Castle a licensing fee. So as I see it, if you write software for RISC OS, you don’t need a license, if you write stuff and supply RISC OS, you do need a license.

That’s how I read the FAQ anyway.

The way I understood it was that they also include a license from ROL who make a claim for the rights to RISC OS on a desktop product. (Presumably a covering one’s behind measure, rather than a taking of sides.)

However I don’t believe they make any claim to the rights of self build systems. (Indeed, when the Mico and Riscstation were current, I attempted to buy a motherboard to build my own system, and was told that it wasn’t allowed under the conditions of the OS license. Implying ROL didn’t have that right.)

There is also some information on the website of Castle