Re: GPL and other licences

[David Kastrup]

"Alfred M\. Szmidt" <ams@gnu.org> writes:

>    > The license does _not_ apply to the physical copy, it applies to
>    > the software.  Please read the license, it even says so
>
>    But you can't get the software without accessing the physical
>    media, and what you are allowed to do with the media is its owner's
>    decision.
>
> I don't have physical access to the disk drivers on ftp.gnu.org.

But you have the permission of the FSF to access the disk drives on
ftp.gnu.org via anonymous ftp.  You would not have the permission to
hack into their machines and get arbitrary software and files from
their machines, even though the access (which most certainly is
physical, since data does not travel except by physical signals) is of
the same kind.

> I don't have physical access to most, if not all, places where I get
> free software.

You can't get anything without access to the physical media, and you
need the owner's permission to access the media.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum