Re: Attorney fees

[rjack]

Hyman Rosen wrote:
> Now, suing someone for monetary damages because they have been distributing
> copyrighted works without a license is exactly what normal copyright cases
> are all about. Trying to twist this Eagle case to match GPL copyright
> infringement suits is laughable.

Section 2(b) of the GPL requires:

 b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
    whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any
    part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third
    parties under the terms of this License.

Now feast your eyes on the phrase: "licensed as a whole at no charge to all
third parties"... see the *no charge* ? The language of the GPL itself requires
that no monetary damages are possible for the source code authors.

AttemptS to vindicate the "moral rights" of authors using the GPL is utterly
frivolous. Moral rights aren't recognized under U.S. law:

 “American copyright law, as presently written, does not recognize moral rights
or provide a cause of action for their violation, since the law seeks to
vindicate the economic, rather than the personal rights of authors.”). Gilliam
v. American Broadcasting Cos., 538 F.2d 14, 24 (2nd Cir. 1976).

No monetary damages are possible, no "moral rights can be vindicated. Why
litigate?

The Monsoon people and the SFLC are doing nothing more than attempting to
subvert copyright law for political gain by the filing of utterly frivolous and
vexatious litigation. These suits waste the court's resources, the defendants'
resources and stuff more than 250 thousands dollars a year in Eben Moglen's deep
pockets.

So why does Eben Moglen line his pockets handsomely while asking programmers to
distribute their work at "no charge" to the general public?

Sincerely,
Rjack :)

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or
the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
-- John Adams, 'Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre
Trials,' December 1770