Re: Contracts and licenses
Humberto Massa <humberto.massa@almg.gov.br> writes:
> @ 28/06/2004 15:38 : wrote Brian Thomas Sniffen :
>
> >A whole bunch of your argument was balanced on the claim that one
> >had to accept the GPL in order to receive the licenses it offers,
> >because it's a contract, and that it had to be a contract, because
> >one had to accept it to receive certain benefits.
> >
> >I don't think either of those is true, and this is a good example
> >of why I think that. Calling it a nitpick doesn't make it less of
> >a counterexample to your claims.
> >
>
> Anyway, it depends on your jurisdiction. Here in Brasil, *every*
> software license is a contract, and is ruled, aside from the
> dispositions in Copyright Law (9.610/98) and Computer Programs Law
> (9.609/98), to Contract Law and the Civil Code.
So something as simple as the MIT/X11 license -- "I grant to you a
license to make derivative works of this work, and to trade in them
and it without restriction" is a contract? Gosh. How can I enforce
it against you?
If I issue a license as my example above, but appending "provided you
wear yellow underpants," and then discover that you have distributed
copies of the software without wearing yellow underpants, can I
enforce the contract against you and obtain damages or your
performance of the underpants-wearing? Or do I go after you for
infringing my copyright?
> So, here, basically it's legally binding a license "contract" that
> says you can only *use* the program or the data generated by it if
> you are wearing yellow underpants (not really, but almost).
>
> >And I'll continue to argue that a license granted only by contract
> >is non-free. To the extent that applies to the MPL, it's certainly
> >relevant.
> >
>
> IRT jurisdicions like ours where, every license is only granted by
> contract, where do you stand?
It may not be possible to have free software in such jurisdictions. I
don't understand their laws well enough to say that it's impossible --
indeed, the other messages you've sent about a universal right to make
any copies necessary for operation imply it's not possible to have
*unfree* software there.
--
Brian Sniffen bts@alum.mit.edu
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