Re: GNU licenses

[Merijn de Weerd]

On Tue,  5 Sep 2006 15:06:28 +0200 (CEST), "Alfred M. Szmidt"
<ams@gnu.org> said:
>    It does *not* logically follow that I therefore am licensed by
>    doing the act. You are assuming that it's impossible to do things
>    that are illegal (forbidden).
> 
> No, I'm assuming (well, not really, it is a fact) that illegal acts
> are illegal.  Much like it is possible for someone to commit murder,
> or violate copyright law.  There is a difference between "not allowed"
> and still doing it.

Absolutely. What I was trying to get at, is that the fact that something
is not allowed does not actually prohibit people from doing it.
Therefore, the fact that someone is doing an act does not mean you can
conclude he's doing it the legal way. That's why you are not
automatically bound by the GPL when distributing.

If I know my neighbor's TV is on sale, and later I see you carrying my
neighbor's television, can I conclude that you bought it from him or
should I allow for the possibility that you stole it? 

Merijn