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 X-Google-Thread: 1025b4,43ae7f61992b3213 X-Google-Attributes: gid1025b4,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,faf964ea4531e6af X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: David Kastrup Subject: Re: GPL and "free" software Date: 1999/04/27 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 471505400 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit References: <7fibd5$jc7$1@news2.tor.accglobal.net> <7fjucn$k4p$1@trog.dera.gov.uk> <7fkl3v$1e2$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <7fl5ac$9sh$1@news2.tor.accglobal.net> <7fl9q5$ab7@drn.newsguy.com> <7foo6s$qbm$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <37209ca6.1133249@news.pacbell.net> <7fudch$hsv$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <3723c38b@eeyore.callnetuk.com> <7g1sdh$nvo$2@netnews.upenn.edu> <7g268b$n1e$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <7g2epv$k11$1@netnews.upenn.edu> <7g2l0f$58g$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <7g4jme$5sq$3@netnews.upenn.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 X-Trace: sunu789.rz.ruhr-uni-bochum.de 925228032 25232 134.147.176.143 (27 Apr 1999 15:47:12 GMT) Organization: Institut fuer Neuroinformatik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany Mime-Version: 1.0 (generated by tm-edit 7.106) NNTP-Posting-Date: 27 Apr 1999 15:47:12 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,gnu.misc.discuss Date: 1999-04-27T15:47:12+00:00 List-Id: hughett@chaplin.med.upenn.edu (Paul Hughett) writes: > Robert Dewar (robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com) wrote: > : In article <7g2epv$k11$1@netnews.upenn.edu>, > : hughett@chaplin.med.upenn.edu (Paul Hughett) wrote: > : > I am assuming that B misrepresented the software as their > : > own and failed to inform C that C is free to use and/or > : > redistribute the software under the GPL; then I think C > : > has a pretty good case for fraud. > > : But in fact C is NOT free to further distribute this > : software, since C does not hold a license. C has been > : granted a license neither by B nor by A, thus C cannot > : copy the software at all. > > Paragraph 7 of the GPL (version 2) grants C the right to > use/copy/modify/etc the software, even if B made and distributed the > copy in violation of the GPL. C arguably has the same rights > with respect to B's modifications of the code, but I would want to do > some more study and thinking before I would be really sure of it. But the GPL in this scenario covered only the transfer of software from A to B. C has no right whatsoever to demand that he might do anything with the software in question if B did not license him to do this. The best C can do is tell A about the situation so that A can sue B for breach of license. If A is not interested in defending his license in court, this does not give C any more rights to the stuff he received from B. -- David Kastrup Phone: +49-234-700-5570 Email: dak@neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de Fax: +49-234-709-4209 Institut f�r Neuroinformatik, Universit�tsstr. 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany