Re: Monta Vista software license terms

Horst von Brand (brand@jupiter.cs.uni-dortmund.de)
Wed, 12 Feb 2003 09:00:58 +0100


David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com> said:

[...]

> But you don't need to distribute the rights to the Linux kernel
> because already already has the rights to the Linux kernel.

Yes, because they got them from someone.

> And when
> you say you "get sources .. under the GPL", you're implying that you
> have to assent to the GPL to get sources, but you don't. The GPL is
> not a shrink-wrap agreement and you don't have to assent to it just
> to receive or use sources.

Right.

> There is no distribution issue because
> everyone already has the right to possess and use every GPL'd work,
> so there are no rights to distribute.

Maybe putting a binary up on FTP or giving it to you on a CD can't be taken
legally as agreeing to GPL, but I'd consider that rather far-fetched. AFAIU,
if I have a copyright on something I have the legal right to stop anybody
from using it against my will, a license is just an expression of what I
allow you to do. GPL is a license using copyright, it just gives everybody
the right to do as they please and only restricts redistribution.

In any case, IANAL. And I believe you aren't either, so this discussion is
irrelevant. Get a lawyer versed in this stuff to check out your theory.

-- 
Dr. Horst H. von Brand                   User #22616 counter.li.org
Departamento de Informatica                     Fono: +56 32 654431
Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria              +56 32 654239
Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso, Chile                Fax:  +56 32 797513
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/