Re: Re: Respect for Upstream Authors and Snippets of Interest

[Nathanael Nerode <neroden@twcny.rr.com>]

Barak Pearlmutter wrote:
> About the "README" offer you allude to, do you really think an
> upstream author's statement:
>
>  Copyright blah blah blah ...
>
>  Distributed under the GNU GPL v2 ...
>
>  Source licenses for inclusion of this code in proprietary programs
>  are available from the author for $10,000 plus 2% of gross sales.
>
> is modifiable?  Removable sure.  Maybe appendable.  But modifiable?
> How can it be changed?  Do you think Debian could just change the 2%
> to a 0.5%?  Maybe give a discount to non-profits?  When we talk about
> code being modifiable, that's what we mean: the ability to change it
> in arbitrary ways.  Here, no changes are in fact possible, however you
> read the license and such.

We talk about modifiability rights under copyright (and sometimes patent 
and trade secret) law.  Not other "rights".  People aren't allowed to 
distribute programs that defame or defraud other people regardless of 
the copyright license, and the example you just gave falls in precisely 
the same category.

It is modifiable to, for instance:

> The original author of this code (Mr. Foo) offers source licenses for 
>the inclusion of his code in proprietary programs; this does not apply
>to the modifications made by other authors, such as the Debian >packaging.

And it's quite likely that you would *want* to make this modification.