Re: Licensing question about the BSD

[Alexander Terekhov]

Alexander Terekhov wrote:
> 
> Rui Miguel Seabra wrote:
> [...]
> >   <<the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under
> > this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without
> > the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of
> > the possession of that copy or phonorecord.>>
> >                   ^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > So you can do whatever with _YOUR_COPY_ but you still can't redistribute
> > copies of it.
> 
> Downloads aside for a moment, the GPL permits reproduction, and, under
> the idiotic "not-a-contract" theory, it just can't compel me to
> relinquish the distribution right that I enjoy under the copyright
> law (17 USC 109) being the owner of all those NEW "particular copies"
> that I've lawfully made: I can distribute them as I see fit (apart
> from rental) without the authority of the copyright owner. There's no
> copyright infringement and there's no contract violation ("no contract"
> says FSF). That's it.

I hear that GNUtian dak seems to confuse the copyright law (which 
establishes property rights subject to limitations under 17 USC 109,
117, etc.) with the contract law that is used to enforce licensee's 
promises by licensors of copyright IP. 

Well, regarding the GPL, GNUtian Moglen says that there aren't any 
promises at all to be enforced.

http://google.com/groups?selm=410A3F60.7B6049FD@web.de

And I *really like* it.

regards,
alexander.

P.S. <quote source=http://www.nswscl.org.au/journal/49/Giles.html>

3 The licensee's promises

A licensee has the following possible obligations under the GPL: 

3.1 Limits on distribution

  to put appropriate notices and terms on distributed copies of the 
  program (GPL clause 1); 

  to place prominent notices on modified files stating the existence 
  and date of any modifications (GPL clause 2(a)); 

  to license derivative works as a whole with no charge to any 
  licensees (GPL clause 2(b)); 

  to display a notice of terms on derivative interactive programs 
  when distributed (GPL clause 2c); 

  to include the source code in any distributed copies (GPL clause 3); 
 
  not to distribute except as provided (GPL clause 4);

3.2 Legal rights abandoned

  to give up rights to sue for implied warranties (GPL clause 11); 
  and 

  to give up rights to sue for tortious claims (GPL clause 12). 

</quote>