Re: the FSF's GPLv3 launch conference
* Alexander Terekhov:
> Unrestricted downloads of the GPL'd stuff aside for a moment, the GPL
> gives me a copy or two. Thank you. The distribution of those copies (as
> I see fit) is made under 17 USC 109, not the GPL. Being not a contract
> (according to the FSF), the GPL is irrelevant at the time of distribution.
Sure, some parts of the GPL are highly questionable (especially the
termination clause). But according to the usual interpretation of
copyright law, you are still not allowed to distribute modified copies
of a computer program, even if the original copy was obtain legally
from the copyright holder. As a result, copyleft still works. (Some
copyright owners even claim that changing their works in any way is
not allowed, but most countries recognize some kind of "right to
patch".)
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