FW: FW: Qt and the GPL

David Johnson david at usermode.org
Tue Sep 12 01:49:33 UTC 2000


On Mon, 11 Sep 2000, John Cowan wrote:
> Nelson Rush wrote:
>  
> > Also, there is no legal distinction between dynamic and static linking, so
> > the issues are the same for both.
> 
> In principle, no.  But static linking is often done by the distributor of
> a program, whereas dynamic linking is invariably done by the person executing
> the program.  In the latter case, de minimis and first-sale issues arise:
> technically, scribbling marginal notes in your copy of a book is making a derivative
> work, but as long as you do not distribute it, a copyright lawsuit against you
> will not get far.

Does copyright law make a distinction between refering to a work and
incorporating the work? If so, the dynamic and static linking have
another big difference. In the case of dynamic linking only references
into the library are used (the interface) while the actual library is
not incorporated.

-- 
David Johnson
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