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Re: The GPL dream is finally over!


From: Alexander Terekhov
Subject: Re: The GPL dream is finally over!
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:13:33 +0200

Andrew Halliwell wrote:
> 
> Rjack <nospam@here.com> wrote:
> > Anyone who finds that language ambiguous should probably return to
> > kindergarten for a refresher course in reading skills. It's either that
> > or perhaps their cognitive skills are hopelessly impaired like a large
> > number of Eben Moglen's true believers.
> 
> IF the GPL is nullified in the USA, all that is nullified is the permission
> to copy. Because it's only the permission to copy (and the restrictions on
> how it is copied) which is tied to the GPL.
> 
> That would mean the rest-of-the-world [tm] ...

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/resources/feedback/OIIFB_GPL3_20040903.pdf

Prof. Dr. Hoeren

http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/panel/profiles/hoeren-thomas.pdf

OLG/Court of Appeal of Dusseldorf (Copyright Senate), Appellate Judge:

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/resources/feedback/OIIFB_GPL3_20040903.pdf

-------
Finally, there is the important question of the consequences of the
assumed invalidity of the GPL. The Munich court argued that the
question of the enforceability of the GPL was in no way relevant.
According to the Bavarian judges, if the GPL is legally ineffective,
the user does not have a license and is thus violating copyright law.
On the face of it, that sounds plausible, but it is not. If somebody 
offers software on the Internet for downloading and links the 
download with invalid general terms, he can hardly sue for copyright 
infringement. Instead, the validity of the standard terms is a 
matter for the software distributor: if he wants to use invalid
contractual terms, he bears the risk of their use. It would violate
equity and good faith if he were allowed to sue others merely on
the grounds that his license terms were invalid.
-------

Simply put, IF the GPL is "nullified" de jure, then the GPL'd code base
simply enters quasi public domain de jure. Google "copyright misuse"
Halliwell. The GPL haters have nothing against code put into (quasi)
public domain (provided that there is no infringement of rights
belonging to others). What's wrong with that?

regards,
alexander.

-- 
http://gng.z505.com/index.htm 
(GNG is a derecursive recursive derecursion which pwns GNU since it can 
be infinitely looped as GNGNGNGNG...NGNGNG... and can be said backwards 
too, whereas GNU cannot.)


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