Using GPL'd software in BSD-licensed app

[David Johnson]

On Thu, 11 May 2000, Justin Wells wrote:

> I'm not sure this is such a good idea. If you look at the GPL code and then
> write your own, and your code turns out to be substantially the same as the 
> GPL code, you might be infringing. 
> 
> Isn't this why chip designers use clean room techniques?

I always thought that the clean room techniques were to prove that no
reverse-engineering was performed.

I don't believe you can place a copyright on an algorithm (I'm fairly
positive about this), only patents. And the FSF is very much against
patents. I would find it highly hypocritical for an author of GPL code
to deny anyone else the algorithm. Just make sure that your code
doesn't look like theirs. Use a lot of comments explaining why you're
coding stuff the way you're are.

-- 
David Johnson...
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