gnu-misc-discuss
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: GPL traitor !


From: Erik Funkenbusch
Subject: Re: GPL traitor !
Date: Sat, 9 May 2009 10:11:57 -0500
User-agent: 40tude_Dialog/2.0.15.1

On Sat, 09 May 2009 10:43:09 +0200, David Kastrup wrote:

>> Funny, but even YOU don't seem to understand the GPL that nobody could
>> possibly misunderstand.  Or maybe it's the FSF that doesn't understand
>> it.
> 
> Or maybe you don't have a clue what "outside its scope" means.  The FSF
> is talking about the applicability of copyright law.  The contents of
> the GPL are not at issue here.

The GPL is useless without copyright law.  The two are entertwined.  You
cannot understand the GPL without understanding copyright law, thus the
"contents fo the GPL" includes copyright law, because the GPL is a
"derivitive work" of it.

> Absolutely the same scope problem occurs
> for the BSD license.

But since the BSD license enforces no restrictions on you, other than
leaving copyright clauses in the source code and not sueing them, and does
not depend on the definition of "derivitive work" in copyright law, the BSD
license does not have the same problems.

>> Actually, no.  The GPL says nothing about charging for the license.
> 
> Huh?  Check out chapter 6 in the current GPL version, and search for the
> string "at no".  There are about 4 instances or so of that, where "at no
> further charge" and its equivalent are mentioned.  Chapter 6 is about
> conveying binaries, and it makes repeatedly clear that access and
> license to the source code then have to be provided without additional
> charge.

I'm speaking about GPLv2.  v3 with all it's "conveyance" crap is even
worse, but I don't know it well enough to comment much on it.

>> You cannot understand the GPL without understanding the wider chaos of
>> copyright law.  That's why the GPL is not easy to understand.
> 
> Since that applies to any license, it's disingenuous to blame the GPL
> for that specifically.

I'm not.  I'm blaming the people that say it's impossible to misunderstand
the GPL.


reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]