Re: Defining 'preferred form for making modifications'

["Joe Moore" <joemoore@iegrec.org>]

Thomas Bushnell, BSG said:
> "Joe Moore" <joemoore@iegrec.org> writes:
>> Modifying in an interesting and useful way like running "strip" on the
>> binary?
>> I don't think the GPL can be subverted so easily:
>
> Say, to change a string constant, usually pretty easy.  I wish I had
> said that the first time around.

I don't think that changing a string constant would be sufficient to create
a separate copyright, but even so...

In order to distribute your derived work (modified.exe), you'd have to
distribute the source (orig.exe) in its preferred form (by making your
change, you have established that an ELF executable is the preferred form
for your change).  But you can't distribute orig.exe without fulfilling the
terms of the GPL, since it's a derived (compiled) work of orig.c in
non-preferred form.

--Joe