Re: Intellectual Property II

[oaky]

When ICE Miller stated in Wallace V FSF that "contract terms apply"  it
made me go back and see what are the contract terms.  The following,
like all GPL things, is quite complicated, and raises some interesting
questions.

Remember, though, the plain language of the contract applies now, so
this is literal.  With that, I look only at section 1 of the GPL for
literal interpretation.

Section 1 of the GPL applies to distribution of source code (not object
code nor executable).  Each licensee is addressed as "you".

We will start with a simple premise. Joe puts his original source code
on sourceforget.net under the GPL and I want to copy and distribute
verbatim copies of  the Program's source code.  For simplicity, I
modified GPL section 1 (below) to replace "You" with "I" meaning me.
It just makes it easier to read the paragraph.

1. I may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
code as I receive it, in any medium, provided that I conspicuously and
appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any other
recipients of the Program a copy of this License along with the
Program.

First, note that I must "keep intact all the notices that refer to this
License and to the absence of any warranty".  So, when I distribute a
verbatim copy to Jane, I have already provided her with the License as
part of the verbatim copy I sent her (after all, I got the code with a
copy of the License).

Next, note the part that states "and give any other recipients of the
Program".
a) It does not state "my recipients" or my licensees, it clearly and
unambiguously uses the phrase "and give any other recipients of the
Program."
b) it does not state recipient's of the "Program source code".  It
clearly and unambiguously uses the phrase "Program".

Thus it is not limited to recipients of source code, but to object code
representations (as permitted by section 3 of the GPL which I will
describe in a subsequent posting) as well as derived representations
(see GPL defines Program).

It is not limited to recipients from me.  It also includes "any other
recipients of the Program"  which would now include those who receive
the Program from me (distributed by me) and anybody who gets it upsteam
or downstream from any other distributor, in any form, and any version
(described below)

So, simply because I want to distribute the verbatim copy of Joe's
work, I am now obligated (by contract terms) to give something to
anybody who receives the Program (including any derivative) from
anybody else upstream and/or downstream from me.  But what do I have to
give them, and how do I know who they are?

What is the purpose of my having to give any other recipient the
Program a copy of the License?  I have not changed the source code in
anyway.  I am merely distributing Joe's original copy.

This obligation is not limited to giving  "any other recipients of the
Program a copy of this License"  It also places a burden that I must
give "a copy of this License along with the Program".

The phrase "along with the Program" is really interesting.  What does
this mean?

Does this mean that I have to give "a copy of this License" as part of
the distribution from which the recipient received the Program? For
example, I distributed the source code to Jane, and she created a
binary distribution (allowed under section 3 of the GPL) which she
distributed to Dick.  Does this mean that I have to provide a copy of
this license to Dick as part of Jane's distribution?  Or do I have to
give a copy to Dick directly?  How do I do that?  Is Jane obligated to
include my copy of the license (as distinguished from any other copy,
such as Jane's copy, and all the other copies in the case of a
modification)?   How do I impose this requirement on Jane, or will Jane
provide me with her distribution list so that I can fullill this
obligation?  What if Jane is providing a binary distribution over the
Internet where anybody can download a copy?  Note that it does not
state I have to do this on demand from Jane's licensees.  So to
fullfill my obligation there must be some way for me (not Jane) to
provide a copy of this License to Jane's recipients as it is my
obligation.

Does it mean that I literally have to give "a copy of the Program" as
well?    For example, do I have to give a copy of the License along
with a copy of the Program, or just a copy of the License along with
the Program that Dick received from Jane?   If it means that I have to
give a copy of the program, then what version do I have to provide, in
what format, and how do I do this?  The definition of "Program"
includes "any such program or work".  Does this mean the copy of the
Program must include "any such program or work" as in "any one of" or
does it mean any as in "any and all"?

The GPL describes: "This License applies to any program or other work
which contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be
distributed under the terms of this General Public License.  The
"Program", below, refers to any such program or work, and a "work based
on the Program" means either the Program or any derivative work under
copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Program or a
portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated
into another language.
---
Hopefully people reading this will realize that the above is a
reasonable literal interpretation of section 1.   The goal herein is to
understand the obligations and how one might be able to fullfill the
obligations so as not to be in violation of the GPL.
---
walter_oak_night (Oaky)