Re: GPL "or any greater version"
Adam McKenna <adam@flounder.net> writes:
> On Thu, Aug 26, 2004 at 09:32:51PM -0400, Brian Thomas Sniffen wrote:
>> > Once you've distributed a change to gcc, the copyright holder is free
>> > to redistribute that change under any future version of the GPL, and
>> > there's nothing you can do to prevent that. [Your distribution can
>> > be "only under the terms of GPLv2", but each recipient "automatically
>> > receives a license from the original licensor" and "You may not impose
>> > any further restrictions".]
>>
>> He receives a license to the original program from the original
>> licensor -- who's in no position to grant licenses to what I wrote.
>> I'm compelled to offer a license under the terms of "this License,"
>> which is GPL v2.
>
> The original licensor (copyright holder) can govern the distribution terms
> of derived works. This is a right granted by copyright law.
No, he can't. He can *restrict* the distribution terms of derived
works, but he doesn't have full rights to them. The person who
prepared the derived work also has copyright on it.
He certainly can't unilaterally grant a license to work to which he
doesn't own exclusive rights.
-Brian
--
Brian Sniffen bts@alum.mit.edu
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