From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, MSGID_RANDY autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,faf964ea4531e6af X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1025b4,43ae7f61992b3213 X-Google-Attributes: gid1025b4,public From: Robert Dewar Subject: Re: GPL and "free" software Date: 1999/05/06 Message-ID: <7gsrea$g3c$1@nnrp1.deja.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 474848943 References: <7fibd5$jc7$1@news2.tor.accglobal.net> <7gpvsh$tdm$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <7gqjpa$9cp$1@eyry.econ> <7gqrbf$mun$1@nnrp1.deja.com> X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 x15.dejanews.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 205.232.38.31 Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion X-Article-Creation-Date: Thu May 06 19:44:12 1999 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,gnu.misc.discuss X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/4.51 [en] (WinNT; U) Date: 1999-05-06T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article , Barry Margolin wrote: > In article <7gqrbf$mun$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, > The GPL never specifically addresses the issue we're discussing. It's all > post facto posturing by RMS, as he tries to figure out how to apply the GPL > to situations that didn't exist when it was written. What he feels is a > logical extension of the spirit of the GPL may not in fact be supported by > copyright law. Nor could it! The issue of whether the patch file is or is not a derived work is a matter of copyright law, not something that can be addressed by the GPL. However, it is my opinion that indeed the current copyright law would determine that the patch file was a derived work. I base this opinion on the work I have done as an expert witness in software copyright cases. Of course it would need a court ruling to determine this precisely. I can also tell you that lawyers at one large company definitely agree there is a real problem in distributing patch files ... As always, feel free to try it and see. Note that most situations in which companies have pushed the GPL have resulted in quick agreements to change behavior and have not ended up in court. I am not sure how many companies would be happy to be in court right now in a position which would make them seem to be undermining the principles of free software! -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own