Re: Having a non-free and a non-cd branch?
Manoj Srivastava wrote:
>Hi,
>>>"Oliver" == Oliver Elphick <olly@lfix.co.uk> writes:
>
> Oliver> The licences are to be interpreted by the behaviour of their
> Oliver> authors.
>
> Umm, are you sure? I though that licences were legal
> documents, to be interpreted in legal terms, and really as binding on
> the authors as the user. Like, you give me a licence to do something,
> you can't sue me for doing it.
But what the licence is and whether it has been given is not necessarily
determined only by legal documents.
1. Most computer licences are drawn up by non-lawyers ans probably fail
to express their authors' intentions adequately.
2. An oral agreement is just as enforceable as a written one, provided
that its terms can be established.
> As legal documents, the actions of the authors may not be
> releavant.
>
> This is not trademark law; the authors may selectively
> prosecute violators; so even if they have not prosecuted in the past,
> they may change their minds and start with you.
But if they have promoted their software for free distribution, they
cannot complain if anyone takes them up on it.
>
> Oliver> What TrollTech and KDE actually do is equivalent to a variation cla
>use
> Oliver> attached to the licences.
>
> In what legal jurisdiction? I was not aware that this is the
> case in the US, but I am not a lawyer. If you have consulted one, or
> if you are one, I stand corrected.
I'm thinking of English Common Law. I have a legal influence on my
background (accountancy training), but am not a qualified lawyer.
The matter would be much clearer if it were under the law of Contract,
but since there is no consideration, I doubt if it can be.
--
Oliver Elphick Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
PGP key from public servers; key ID 32B8FAA1
========================================
"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he
is able to help those who are being tempted."
Hebrews 2:18
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-request@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
Reply to: