Re: Common misunderstanding of the GPL

On Thu, Dec 11, 2003 at 12:31:48PM -0500, Hall, Ken (IDS ECCS) wrote:
> In view of the opinions expressed by the Hercules developers concerning
> the GPL, I think this article might be of interest.  The relevant item is
> near the bottom of the page.
> 
> http://lwn.net/Articles/60455/

I believe I am among the first to have raised a concern over the viral
nature of the GPL. I know I was the one who first coined the term GNU Public
Virus, in an article in gnu.misc.discuss in 1989. (See
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=4%26VSZ:%40splut.conmicro.com
for the original.)

I fundamentally distrust Eben Moglen's discussion of the GPL's possible
effects. He is clearly motivated by a desire to see the world adopt the GPL
as its standard license, and so has a great incentive to minimize the risks
involved. Further, even though he's promising, in effect, to forbear from
demanding that other code be licensed under the GPL, there's on way to hold
him to that promise. As another article on the same page notes, nothing -
*NOTHING* - is guaranteed once you get to court.

Finally, and most tellingly, is that this article represents a shift in
position. Until now, everyone has been aying that the GPL is enforceable -
in fact, gets its enforceability - from contract law. Now, Eben Moglen comes
along and says "forget all that, it's really copyright law and has been all
along". Huh?! Since when? Why the sudden change?

The GPL advocates would like nothing more than to destroy the possibility
that software could be distributed under other than their terms. They're
losing that battle, as people realize just what the GPL is and does, and
that there are many other options for Open Source that do not demand that
others follow the Stallmanites' utopian ideals. Now, they're trying to make
everyone think that it's not the big problem it had been seen as in the
past. Personally, I just flat don't buy it.

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