Re: hypothitical nonfree question
On 11 Jul 2001, Brian May wrote:
(IANAL ;-)
> Hello,
>
> Lets say I am writing a frontend (call it X), to a GPL package
> (eg. gnupg), and want to be a prick and disallow commercial use.
You bastard ;-)
> This
> runs gnupg by forking and execing it and supplying STDIN while reading
> STDOUT.
>
> Does the GPL allow this?
I don't see why not. You're not changing the original source of GnuPG in
this case, so there's no violation of GPL here.
> Now, say my front end requires a special feature that isn't
> implemented in gnupg (it is specific to my application), so with my
> application, I distribute a source code patch to gnupg that makes it
> do the stuff I require.
>
> Does the GPL allow this?
Sure. You're making changes, but distribute those changes, as GPL
requires. No problem here.
> Now say one of the source files, eg. snprintf.o (or similar stuff)
> required to build X, and this file is licensed, by other authors,
> under the GPL. This file is only required where the OS doesn't provide
> the function.
>
> The GPL doesn't allow this does it?
Sorry, but I'm not following you here anymore. Could you help me out? ;-)
> (not that I want to try and start a flame war over the GPL, I just
> want a 2nd opinion that my understanding is correct).
Then why didn't you go to -legal? It's there for such things
Cc set.
--
wouter dot verhelst at advalvas in belgium
www.debian.org
resistance is futile, you will be packaged...
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