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Re: [GPL] No linking with proprietary programs: where?



On Wed, Apr 05, 2000 at 01:52:39PM -0400, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:
> As a general legal rule, you cannot assume that A+B is legal, even if
> A separately is legal and B separately is legal; the combination can
> still be illegal.

Absolutely.

Individual characters are not copyrightable.  Works composed of individual
characters are.  There has to be a transition somewhere [unless copyright
is abolished].

The topology of this transition would be incredibly messy to fully
describe [many laws have similar problems with edge conditions].  So,
courts tend to focus on the specifics of individual cases (what people
have actually gone out and done) rather than trying to solve all the
hypotheticals all at once.

-- 
Raul


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