Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2004 22:38:23 +0200 (MEST)
From: Geert Uytterhoeven <geert@linux-m68k.org>
To: "Jeff V. Merkey" <jmerkey@drdos.com>
cc: Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu, jmerkey@comcast.net,
       Linux Kernel Development <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: Possible GPL Violation of Linux in Amstrad's E3 Videophone
In-Reply-To: <415DB427.7050108@drdos.com>
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 <200410011934.i91JYU2t014578@turing-police.cc.vt.edu> <415DB427.7050108@drdos.com>
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On Fri, 1 Oct 2004, Jeff V. Merkey wrote:
> > So you have three choices: You can accept the terms of the GPL, and comply
> > with them, or you can not ship those pieces covered by the GPL (basically
> > the entire kernel), or you can ship it in violation and wait for the hate
> > mail to start arriving..... 
> > 
> >  
> And the hate mail is the only thing that will arrive.   The GPL doesn't really
> seem
> to protect anyone since the copyright holders really can't do much with it.
> I've
> got a bunch of people using GPL code I've put out there in all sorts of
> commercial
> products and Can't do anything to them for failing to return changes.  They
> can always
> say they didn't accept the license then convert the code into their own IP .

If they didn't accept the license, they fall back to standard copyright, and
are not allowed to distribute. End of story.

According to your reasonings, copyright holders cannot do anything neither for
other examples of copyright violation. Try distributing other copyrighted work
(non-free software or non-free music or non-free movies) on your website and
see what happens. You can always say `but I didn't accept the license' :-)

Gr{oetje,eeting}s,

						Geert

--
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert@linux-m68k.org

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
							    -- Linus Torvalds
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