On Sun, Oct 31, 1999 at 09:55:33PM -0500, Raul Miller wrote: > > > Where would you like the discussion to head? > > On Sun, Oct 31, 1999 at 05:30:44PM -0800, Joseph Carter wrote: > > Towards a fix for the problem that doesn't make the GPL non-free. > > How does my interpretation of copyright law make the GPL non-free? Kernel is GPL. Everything is a derivative of the kernel under your interpretation. You can argue that Linus has allowed people to abuse the GPL of the kernel so it's okay, however I think this would cause the GPL to contaminate any distribution which contains any GPL software. If that doesn't cross the DFSG line, it comes very damned close to doing it. If RMS intends this sort of contamination (I don't believe he's even considered the issue fully) then we CANNOT ship things like Apache with Debian unless we get permission from Linus and the other kernel Copyright holders to do so, in writing (or at least in email with modified license terms to be applied to the next release of the kernel) Should this interpretation of the GPL become dominant I believe we should deprecate the GPL in favor of a license which does not skirt the letter of the DFSG while violating its spirit in favor of some license which doesn't. (Which would suck because I don't know of any other suitable licenses that do anything like what the GPL does..) Further, should v3 of the GPL explicitly say something to the effect of your interpretation, I think we should modify the DFSG to make that license non-free. You are trying to apply a double standard to Copyright law in order to make what you don't like a license violation while allowing the same exact relationship in other cases to be considered acceptable. And you can't say that the allowance for major portions of the OS to not be GPL fixes the problem since the requirement is being MADE BY those major portions, for which there is no exception. *anxiously awaiting Brian's URL to the Nintendo v. Galoob thing which will hopefully settle this..* -- - Joseph Carter GnuPG public key: 1024D/DCF9DAB3, 2048g/3F9C2A43 - knghtbrd@debian.org 20F6 2261 F185 7A3E 79FC 44F9 8FF7 D7A3 DCF9 DAB3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debian Linux is a solid, comprehensive product, and a genuine pleasure to use. It is also great to become involved with the Debian collective, whose friendliness and spirit recalls the early days of the Internet and its sense of openness and global cooperation.
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