Re: GPLv3 comedy unfolding -- ACT's reaction

[Alexander Terekhov]

http://www.actonline.org/documents/ACT-GPLv3-Legal-Risks.pdf
(GPLv3: The Legal Risks of Overreaching for Third Party Patent Rights)

<quote>

At some point, efforts to block patent licenses that are legally 
entered into and fully consistent with contract law, as well as the 
intellectual property laws enacted by Congress, begin to expose those 
developing and agreeing to GPLv3 to potential defenses and 
counterclaims, including but not limited to the following.

- First, efforts by non-parties to force or induce a party to abrogate 
a validly entered into contract or forego entering into a prospective 
contract can give rise to a cause of action for tortious interference.

- Second, concerted agreements among competing providers of Linux 
software and associated services to refuse to enter into license 
agreements with a patent holder, or to refuse to supply Linux software 
as punishment for any company that does so, can give rise to antitrust 
liability under a group boycott theory.

- Third, efforts to use copyrights in order to control subject matter 
such as patent rights that are outside the scope of statutory copyrights 
can give rise to claims for copyright misuse that would block all 
enforcement of such copyrights until the misuse is purged.

The basis for exposure under each of these theories is set forth briefly 
in the following sections. What is evident from the analysis of each of 
these three theories is the effort by the FSF to set itself above the 
general tort, antitrust, and intellectual property laws to attack the 
patent system. They don’t have the power to legislate, however; that is 
left to national legal systems that are subject to relevant international 
norms. Not having the power to legislate, the FSF sets out to undermine 
those laws they deem inconvenient to their purposes rather than working 
through the system to effect the change they desire.

</quote>

See also

http://www.actonline.org/documents/GPLv3-License-or-Contract.pdf
(GPLv3 is a Contract and Why it Matters)

I just can't wait for next round of amusing bullshiting from Eben and 
his underlings. Kudos to ACT.

regards,
alexander.