Re: Translations of GPL
On Fri, Jan 14, 2000 at 01:55:21PM +0100, Andreas Tille wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Jan 2000, Eduardo Marcel Macan wrote:
>
> > A long time ago I asked Richard Stallman and he said that the FSF could
> > not verify all and every translation, but I could include the translated
> > GPL, stating that it was an unofficial translation, not revised by the FSF.
> >
> > I understand this as a problem, because in some countries if the license
> > comes in a language other than the countrie's it may be not valid.
> That's exactly the problem.
>
> The remainding question is, if I could say that the program is
> GPL'ed, if I ship it with the German translation or if this could
> cause problems in English speaking countries.
I don't see how it could cause problems in english speaking
countries. What surely can happen is that someone in a German speaking
country can take advantage of a mistranslated GPL, but anyway it is
unoficial and it is clearly stating that, so It is not of legal value
anyway. The only way this could be legal is if some bilingual lawyer
reads it and asure the FSF that it is an equivalent translation. Maybe
the companies who deal with foreign distribution of linux shoud stand
out and offer this service of translation and validation of the GPL
in other languages to the FSF.
Regards,
--
Eduardo Marcel Maçan <macan@colband.com.br>
Colégio Bandeirantes http://www.colband.com.br
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