Re: Licensing question about the BSD

[David Kastrup]

Alexander Terekhov <terekhov@web.de> writes:

> Alexander Terekhov wrote:
> [...]
>> http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/43996.html
>
> I like this:
>
> <quote>
>
> Some of Welte's targets have complied voluntarily, but one suspects
> that is because they were simply unaware of the problem. Welte
> apparently has no authority to enforce these copyrights. These
> actions are not really legal enforcement -- more the equivalent of
> picketing companies that use cheap overseas labor. It is an attempt
> to embarrass, not enforce.

And since companies are awfully afraid of being embarrassed by some
lawsuit-mad crazy person, they fold immediately.  That's what they
have their lawyers for.

The GPL has indeed seen little exposure in the courts, and that's
simply because a defendant does not gain anything from contesting its
validity since it is not a contract.  In that case, he is acting
without license, and that does not grant him the right to
redistribute, either.

So what really is interesting here is not the extent of the GPL, but
rather the extent of copyright law.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum