[sldev] Fwd: [Opensim-dev] Violating the GPL by looking (Re: Voice Module)

Deryck Hodge deryck at samba.org
Wed Mar 19 10:26:34 PDT 2008


On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 11:59 AM, Callum Lerwick <seg at haxxed.com> wrote:
>
>  On Wed, 2008-03-19 at 16:41 +0000, Robin Cornelius wrote:
>  > The viewer code is GPL so yes this
>  > would then force the GPL on top of opensim and this would mean that
>  > anyone making a derived version of opensim would have to publish there
>  > source as per the GPL.
>
>  No, this is simply wrong. This is the "GPL is viral" argument, and it is
>  pure FUD.
>
>  You are in no way forced to publish the entirety of opensim under the
>  GPL. Worst comes to worst, you will be forced to remove the GPL licensed
>  code, and only the GPL licensed code, from opensim. The GPL can not
>  force itself on to any surrounding code. That is not how copyright law
>  works.
>

No offence meant here, but I think we're conflating a lot of issues
and calling FUD an awful lot when some people are just trying to
understand the issue. (Though clearly there is some anti-GPL FUD being
propagated in earlier emails.)

I support the GPL and want to avoid misunderstandings to, but I think
in this case were confusing the desired outcome of the GPL -- that
code remain under the GPL -- versus potential legal actions available
to a project under the GPL.  Gigs and I just had a discussion about
this on IRC.

So I think you both are correct in a sense. There's no legally
enforceable way to make a project adopt a license.  However, and I
speak only from experience with the projects I deal with, when someone
is suspected of violating the GPL -- usually by including GPL code in
closed-source code -- a letter is sent saying, "hey, did you realize
this? Can you either remove the code or release the code in an
acceptable OSS license? If not, we'll have to consider legal action."

Although, the legal action is never mentioned so overtly, of course.
Hopefully you get my point and don't hold me too literally to the
words in my example. :-)

I think, too, that we're straying from the original issue, that being
that their shouldn't be any fear of just reading code. Especially from
a code base under another OSS license, even if there are some
differences in the two licenses.

Cheers,
deryck

-- 
Deryck Hodge
Senior Programmer
Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive
Samba Team
http://www.devurandom.org/
Anders Falworth in Second Life


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