This is not legal advice. No lawyer-client relationship is hereby established. etc etc.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Stallman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 6:43 PM Subject: Q: Combining proprietary code and GPL for in-house use > My program works well without the GPL library. Now if I sell this program, > and add a module that the customer may link with the GPL library, would I > violate the GPL of the library, and why ? > > No court has ruled on this, but the FSF position is that this would > violate the GPL. The GPL would apply because the code is specifically > designed to function as a combination including the GPL-covered > library. > My difficulty with this argument is that an owner of the copy of the GPL library has a wide right to make a derivative work on the owner's computer by virtue of the GPL and/or a more limited right in the U.S. by virtue of section 117 of the U.S. Copyright Act. If the end-user is licensed how is there infringement, whether direct, contributory or vicarious? Note I assuming here that the program and GPL library are not distributed together as a derivative work which of course would trigger certain GPL clauses i.e. the end-user has obtained both the program and library separately. Perhaps I am missing an obvious point. > The fact that it is also specifically designed to function without > that library is neither here nor there. Its ability to work that way > is innocent and does not constitute a violation of the GPL, but it > doesn't cancel or eliminate the violation. > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >
