jaxsin wrote in Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:49 pm:Also, I ask where in the GPL license does it say a time limit on when those changes need to be received upstream?
Nothing in the GPLv2 mentions contributing upstream. However,
recipients have a right to access the source code, in order to preserve his or her rights. In essence not only (0) to run the program, but also (1) to study and change the program in source code form, (2) to redistribute exact copies, and (3) to distribute modified versions.
The minimum time limit on how long after getting the executable you have right to the source code, three years, can be found in
section 3 of the GNU GPLv2 (my emphasis):
3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
a) [...]
b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
c) [...]
Worth noting is that while there is no limit on the charge for the executable and/or a warranty (see section 1), the charge for the source code, if distributed separately, can only cover the cost of distributing it.