OSD modification regarding what license can require of user

Russell Nelson nelson at crynwr.com
Sat Mar 16 05:46:16 UTC 2002


Richard Stallman writes:
 >     A simple example: it is totally trivial on Windows to build a 'service'
 >     from a DLL, exposing its entire interface. This would be running as a
 >     separate executable, but would look like a regular library to any
 >     windows program.
 > 
 > The FSF's position is that the GPL applies to any programs which are
 > designed to link with that DLL, that this is legally equivalent to
 > statically linking them.

That is your position because it must be your position, not because
there is any legal viability to the argument.

How do you know that such an intention was there?  Perhaps the program
was designed to link with another, compatible non-GPL DLL, and mere
compatibility allows it to link with the GPL DLL?  I really don't know 
what a judge would say, and I expect that you don't know either.

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