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Article #72374

Re: Too Good to be True?

#72374
From: Lieutenant 030
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1992 16:27
41 lines
2508 bytes
jbuck@forney.berkeley.edu (Joe Buck) writes:
> In article <1992Feb6.044358.144@lth.se> bengtl@maths.lth.se (Bengt Larsson) w
> >Excuse me, but this is idiotic. If I violate the GPL, and I'm sued,
> >boycotted (or whatever) by GNU as a result of it, this is solely _my_
> >fault because of my "hoarder philosophy"?
> 
> What you're forgetting is that there's only one way to violate the GPL.
> If you write a program that uses GPL code, then sell someone a binary,
> and then that person says to you: your program contains GPL'd code;
> I'd like to obtain the source, and I'm willing to pay a reasonable
> distribution fee -- the violation does not occur until you say NO,
> I'm not giving you the source, or NO, you can't give the binary to
> someone else.

False.  You can also violate the GPL by giving away your program with no
restrictions whatsoever, with full source code supplied.

> are there.  Your Truly Free Software Foundation will also need to do
> this; if you don't, FSF is free to attach the Gnu license to the beginning
> of your code!

Under my plans for the TFSF, the FSF would indeed be free to attach the
GNU license to the front and push the code as their own.  That's what REAL
freedom means...

> Your reasoning is totally backward and bogus.  A legal conflict about
> the GPL can only arise if someone uses GPL'd code in a product and
> attempts to "hoard it" -- sell the binary without the source, and
> forbid their customers from giving it away.

No, it can also occur if someone uses GPL code in a product which does not
have the restrictions the GPL requires.


mathew

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From: mathew@mantis.co.uk (Lieutenant 030)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: Too Good to be True?
Message-ID: <TwsXFB7w164w@mantis.co.uk>
Date: 10 Feb 92 16:27:40 GMT
References: <kp36smINNq77@agate.berkeley.edu>
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