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Re: DRAFT: debian-legal summary of the QPL



On Mon, Jul 19, 2004 at 11:32:15AM +0100, Matthew Garrett wrote:
> Walter Landry <wlandry@ucsd.edu> wrote:
> >Matthew Garrett <mgarrett@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> >> But the dissident test would only be an issue in jurisdictions with
> >> hostile governments.

> >Which happens to be all jurisdictions.  Some of them don't shoot you,
> >just fine you or put you in jail (e.g. DMCA).  But every jurisdiction
> >has bad laws.

> Then the dissident has already lost. Under the QPL, the government can
> get the copyright holder to ask for a copy of the code. Under the GPL,
> the government can just pass a law requiring that all distributed source
> code be provided to the government.

One would not expect a dissident in such a situation to be a law-abiding
citizen at the expense of his own neck.  Dissidents that naive don't
live long enough to contribute much code.  OTOH, one might expect such a
dissident (since we're sympathetic to him and have such concern for his
safety) to be an ethical being, who does not wish to ignore the wishes
of his neighbor as expressed in the software license.

-- 
Steve Langasek
postmodern programmer

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