Two GPL Questions

[Chris D. Sloan]

On Sun, Dec 09, 2001 at 08:35:37PM -0800, Rick Moen wrote:
> begin Kenny Tilton quotation:
> > What exactly does it do for FSF to lock up the GNU GPL that way?
> 
> My guess is that it gains some standard of identity for its licence.
> That is, nobody can legally create "Fred's GPL" or "Fred's Free Software
> Licence Based on the GPL", and have it sitting around.
> 
> But nothing stops you from creating a GPL-work-alike licence based
> entirely on your own creative efforts.  Go to town on that one, if you
> like.

Certainly work alikes are permitted.

If you want to make a license which contains some of the same language
as the GPL, then you should just ask the FSF for permission.  I've
heard they have granted such permission in the past.  I've also heard
that their main goal is to protect the meaning of "GNU GPL" and that
if you called your license something else, they might allow you to use
parts of the GNU GPL to create it.  If it's important to you, ask them.

-- 
Chris Sloan
cds at cs.hmc.edu
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