Re: The worst that can happen to GPLed code

[David Kastrup]

hollaar@faith.cs.utah.edu (Lee Hollaar) writes:

> In article <20040618135450.3189ed37.tengo@DELETEMEecc.lu> Stefaan A
> Eeckels <tengo@DELETEMEecc.lu> writes:

> >Care to explain how you manage to avoid making copies
> >or derivative works from your first sale copy?
> 
> If you are the lawful owner of a copy, which you are if you have
> permission to download and save the file, then you get to make any
> copy that is essential to the use of the computer program on a
> machine, and adapt (make derivative works) as necessary.

Wrong.  If you become the lawful owner of a copy by an act of
_acquisition_, for an exchange of consideration (which may be as small
as adhering to the conditions of the GPL, or as large as paying a
download fee for the particular item in question), _then_ you get all
the rights that the copyright laws guarantee you for _that_ case.

If you are granted some rights of access unilaterally, without any
recompensation of yours in return, then you can only do what you are
given license to.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum