Re: License issue of bundle

[Jeremy Tregunna]

On 06-09-17, at 18:03, Yen-Ju Chen wrote:

> As far as I understand,
> if an application loads a GPL-licensed bundle,
> this application has to be GPL
>
> Then here is a theoretical question:
> 1. if a GPL-licensed bundle is automatically loaded through  
> GSAppKitUserBundles,
>    do all applications need to be GPL ?
>   I guess probably not.
> 2. If a GPL-licensed bundle provide a category for NSApplication,
>    say [NSApplication -loadGPLBundle].
>    then the GPL-license bundle is loaded through GSAppKitUnserBundles
>    and an application use this method (-loadGPLBundle),
>    does this application need to be GPL-license ?
>    The issue is that the application do not need this bundle to
> compile and execute.
>    It only use it when it is available.
>
> I am just curious about how the GPL propagates through bundle
> through automatical loading.

Regardless of what the FSF thinks the GPL should be interpreted as,  
under US copyright law. So unless the plugin was acquired unlawfully,  
dynamic linking is permitted. For instance, read: http://digital-law- 
online.info/CONTU/contu6.html which is the last I'll touch on it as  
it pertains to the USA.

That said, the FSF's claim would probably hold true in Canada just  
due to the way in which the law is worded. Computer programs under  
the Canadian Copyright Act are considered literary works, defined as  
"a set of insturctions or statments expressed, fixed, embodied or  
stored in any manner, that is to be used directly or indirectly in a  
computer in order to bring about a specific result." And there is  
case law which shows that translation of a computer program into  
another language does constitute infringement on the original  
program. All that to be true, we are receiving a new copyright law  
(sometime anyway, both our two major contendors to a majority  
government support the notion of updating the copyright law, just  
whenever they do is another matter) which may change this  
interpretation. So it's my opinion that the FSF's translation would  
fly in Canada, but not in the USA. Keeping in mind that IANAL.

--
Jeremy Tregunna
jtregunna@blurgle.ca