Re: Too Good to be True?

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Article #72387

#72387

From: Charles Geyer
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1992 16:41

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In article <11FEB199203371748@me.udel.edu> johnston@me.udel.edu (Bill Johnston)
writes:

>The main reason that commercial programmers object to GPL is that they 
>would like to be able to use _bits and pieces_ of FSF source without 
>having to place their entire work under the CopyLeft.  This is the kind
>of decision which very few programmers -- outside academia -- have the 
>power to make.  For such programmers, even _reading_ CopyLefted source 
>places them in a moral dilemma:  suppose that he/she stumbles onto a 
>really clever search algorithm while I'm browsing through GNU grep?  

That's great.  If that the "main reason" we have no problems, because
the reason is completely, 100%, bogus.

If you don't actually rip off GNU code, if you just use the ideas, the
algorithms, then you are completely in the clear.  No one is more opposed
to algorithm patents, or even "algorithm" copyrights when the legal sharks
get around to asserting such things, than FSF.

Of course if you *do* just want to rip off their code, that's another thing
entirely.

-- 
Charles Geyer
School of Statistics
University of Minnesota
charlie@umnstat.stat.umn.edu

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From: charlie@umnstat.stat.umn.edu (Charles Geyer)
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Subject: Re: Too Good to be True?
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Date: 11 Feb 92 16:41:05 GMT
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