Re: TomTom, the GPL and patents

[Alexander Terekhov]

Sonny! Uncle Hasler has spoken! 

John Hasler wrote:
> 
> rjack writes:
> > By the way, your "four freedoms" are really "restrictions" cloaked in
> > socialist semantics.
> 
> They are not restrictions at all.  What is a restriction is copyright: it
> is the government telling you what you may and may not do with your own
> property.  Why is that not "socialist"?

Copyright laws *establish* property rights.

Licensing of that property fall into laws of contract. To quote Nimmer:

"More generally, the essence of any property right is that the owner
can transfer or withhold transfer of its property. Transfers, to be
effective, implicate contract law as the basis for defining the value
received and the interests conveyed. "

"Copyright and patent laws give authors a right to charge more [than
zero], so that they can recover their fixed costs (and thus promote
innovation)" observed prolific and learned Chief Judge Frank
Easterbrook.

The GPL seeks to eliminate that right "to charge more [than zero]" and
is nothing but socialist price control. Note that price control was
among the first measures implemented in all of the socialist countries
after the communist takeover. Shortages appeared quickly, as prices no
longer reflected the true cost of production. 

regards,
alexander.

--
http://gng.z505.com/index.htm
(GNG is a derecursive recursive derecursion which pwns GNU since it can
be infinitely looped as GNGNGNGNG...NGNGNG... and can be said backwards
too, whereas GNU cannot.)