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 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: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: GPL and "free" software Date: 1999/05/06 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 474877906 Distribution: world References: <7fibd5$jc7$1@news2.tor.accglobal.net> <7gqrbf$mun$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <7gsrjo$g7i$1@nnrp1.deja.com> X-Abuse-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Complaints-To: abuse@gte.net X-Trace: /KDWjZJZdOxdh5YWFqe3r72HvuXEUwjHG+aIRr6cJ0Rx9uEaqIUW7xDGOulTZGS3KNwfCQHJDd7L!6/5AO+q6Jhq3WRNUoEYcYqJiGqTSP1hz/BWRo8385Nyki/u0vur4PMKXosAm4w== Organization: GTE Internetworking, Cambridge, MA X-Copies-To: never NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 06 May 1999 20:10:55 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,gnu.misc.discuss Originator: barmar@bbnplanet.com (Barry Margolin) Date: 1999-05-06T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <7gsrjo$g7i$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, Robert Dewar wrote: >In article , > Barry Margolin wrote: > >> 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. > >By the way Barry, perhaps it comes as a surprise to you, but the concept >of patch files is very very old, probably nearly as old as the concept >of programs. And yes, of course the issue of patch files has been >considered from the start, there is nothing "post facto" about this, >and of course this situation has existed from the inception of the GPL. I wasn't referring only to patch files, but all the varieties of things that have been discussed in this thread or which RMS considers to be derived works, such as dynamically-linked objects, plug-ins, etc. Some of them are not necessarily new concepts (Multics has used dynamic linking since the 60's) but didn't see widespread use until relatively recently, so there hasn't been much experience with applying copyright law to them. -- Barry Margolin, barmar@bbnplanet.com GTE Internetworking, Powered by BBN, Burlington, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group.