Re: [LAD] Impro-Visor created on sourceforge

On Wednesday 05 August 2009 21:26:19 Raymond Martin wrote:
> On Wednesday 05 August 2009 21:05:41 drew Roberts wrote:
> > On Tuesday 28 July 2009 22:38:18 laseray@email-addr-hidden wrote:
> > > Whether he wanted to or not, use of GPL code makes it GPL code.
> >
> > I don't think this is correct. It would only mean that if he were not to
> > GPL the code he would be in violation of the original author's copyrights
> > (this is a generic he here and I am not speaking to this particular case
> > as I have not followed this closely enough.) If he did not want to GPL
> > his own code, he could stop distribution, work out another license with
> > the original author or any number of other things surely. He would still
> > have the already existing copyright violations to face should the
> > original author choose to persue them though.
>
> This was all in the context of distribution. Perhaps this was not clear.

No, it was clear. The GPL cannot make someone else's code GPL *if* they don't
claim their own code to be GPL.

In your given context though, you indicate that the code claimed to be GPL
which would make it GPL because the author gave a GPL license to it, not
because it contained another author's GPL code.

Now an author *has* to GPL their own code that contains another author's GPL
code *or* be guilty of copyright violations but the second option is
available to the first author and the courts will have to sort it.
>
> > > I think you
> > > are thinking too much in the vain of convention copyrights. The code is
> > > automatically GPL by way of use of other GPL code. It no longer is some
> > > independent proprietary code solely belonging to the original copyright
> > > holder once mixed together.
> >
> > If I get the time, I seem to remember some FSF pages that disagree with
> > this and point rather to the thoughts I posted above but I am snowed
> > under at the moment.
>
> Again, this was about some app that was already distributed.

Again, you were clear on the distributed part. In a later part I did some of
the search to find the pages mentioned above.
>
> Raymond

all the best,

drew

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Received on Thu Aug 6 16:15:14 2009