Message-ID: <44E998AF.7040907@s5r6.in-berlin.de>
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:27:43 +0200
From: Stefan Richter <stefanr@s5r6.in-berlin.de>
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To: Helge Hafting <helge.hafting@aitel.hist.no>
CC: Chase Venters <chase.venters@clientec.com>,
       Helge Hafting <helgehaf@aitel.hist.no>,
       David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com>, alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk,
       linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: GPL Violation?
References: <1155919950.30279.8.camel@localhost.localdomain> <MDEHLPKNGKAHNMBLJOLKEEBCNOAB.davids@webmaster.com> <20060819113052.GC3190@aitel.hist.no> <200608192220.42456.chase.venters@clientec.com> <44E9678A.7050704@aitel.hist.no>
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Helge Hafting wrote:
[...]
> Yes the GPL is a licence. By using the code, they have accepted
> the licence.  If I use a copy of windows, I'll be forced to pay.
> The reason courts usually award monetary damages is that
> money is what almost everybody wants.  Commercial software,
> books, CDs, DVSs are all traded for money, so copying one
> means you must pay the copyright holder's loss.
> 
> The GPL should work exactly the same way: You distribute
> software derived from GPL software, you pay the usual price.
> But the usual price for GPLed software is not money,
> the usual price is the derived source.
[...]
> if someone tries to be difficult, I hope
> they'll be forced to pay the usual price - which isn't money.
> It'd be hard to set a price anyway, given that GPL software
> isn't usually sold.  The price of having a professional programmer
> developing the same driver perhaps?

There may also be damage due to unfair competition. But then the
plaintiff probably had to be a competitor (or perhaps a body that is
generally entitled to go against unfair competition, if such a body
exists anywhere). The copyright holders of relevant parts of Linux may
sometimes not be competitors to the violator.
-- 
Stefan Richter
-=====-=-==- =--- =-=-=
http://arcgraph.de/sr/
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