Re: GPLv3 comedy unfolding -- "Installation Information"

[Alexander Terekhov]

Installation Information

In our earlier drafts we devoted much care to devising a detailed 
technical definition of the cryptographic information that would 
enable GPL licensees to install functioning modified versions, 
without affecting legitimate uses of encryption. The result was a 
provision that some found too complex and difficult to understand, 
while others continued to raise concerns about overinclusion. In 
fact, the complexity and its resultant problems were never 
necessary, since our underlying goal was quite simple.

In Draft 3 we instead use a definition of “Installation 
Information” in section 6 that is as simple and clear as that goal. 
Installation Information is information that is “required to 
install and execute modified versions of a covered work . . . from 
a modified version of its Corresponding Source,” in the same User 
Product for which the covered work is conveyed. We provide guidance 
concerning how much information must be provided: it “must suffice
to ensure that the continued functioning of the modified object 
code is in no case prevented or interfered with solely because 
modification has been made.” For example, the information provided 
would be insufficient if it enabled a modified version to run only 
in a disabled fashion, solely because of the fact of modification 
(regardless of the actual nature of the modification). The 
information need not consist of cryptographic keys; Installation
Information may be “any methods, procedures, authorization keys, 
or other information.”
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regards,
alexander.

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