Wired Article on the GPL

John Cowan jcowan at reutershealth.com
Thu Mar 30 18:35:25 UTC 2000


Chip Salzenberg wrote:

> But I would consider it obvious that, once I have been granted me a
> license to copy, neither the original copyright holder nor his assigns
> have the authority to stop me.  In other words, the license adheres to
> the code, not the author.

Not obvious, probably not true.  Licenses are personal, in general, 
and a license that isn't a contract (a bare permission)
can be freely revoked by the licensor, as in an invitation to enter onto
land: if the landowner changes his mind, the licensee instantly becomes
a trespasser.

-- 

Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis um dies! || John Cowan <jcowan at reutershealth.com>
Schliesst euer Aug vor heiliger Schau,  || http://www.reutershealth.com
Denn er genoss vom Honig-Tau,           || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
Und trank die Milch vom Paradies.            -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)



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