Re: Java, GPL and CDDL

[Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam@benfinney.id.au>]

Arnoud Engelfriet <arnoud@engelfriet.net> writes:

> Josselin Mouette wrote:
> > This is of course completely wrong. Unless you accept the terms of the
> > GPL, the author's rights apply by default, so you don't have the right
> > to use, distribute or modify the software.
> 
> Which doesn't change the fact that the GPL is a contract whose terms
> must be accepted before the distributor of the software can be held
> to them.

No. A contract requires agreement from all parties, otherwise it is
binding on none of them. The GPL applies *whether or not* the
recipient agrees to it: it is a unilateral license grant, not a
contract.

It does nothing more than unilaterally extend specific rights to the
recipient of the work, above and beyond those granted by copyright
law, with *no* specific agreement required from any party.

-- 
 \        "I took a course in speed waiting. Now I can wait an hour in |
  `\                              only ten minutes."  -- Steven Wright |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney