Clarification of GPL

['Arnoud Engelfriet']

Gream, Matthew wrote:
> This is the case in the UK under the CDPA 1988, for both cases of copyright
> assignment (s.90) and exclusive licenses (s.92): they must be in writing and
> signed. Whether any interpretation, in light of other legal instruments or
> case law, recognises digital signatures as having equivalent effect to this
> is question better answered elsewhere. 

There is a Directive (99/93/EG) which mandates that EC member
states recognize electronic signatures as equivalent to paper
signatures. I am not sure whether it also states that digital
files are equivalent to "in writing".

> It would seem to be the case that submitting a patch constitutes granting a
> perpetual non-exclusive implied license for the reasonable purposes of
> incorporation of the the patch into the project under the terms of the
> license of the project - the patch being used to modify the work (the

I think it is debatable in many cases whether a patch by itself
is sufficiently original to qualify for copyright. But in any 
case you'd be best off insisting on an explicit copyright and
license statement with the patch.

> project) and create a derived work (the new project). Interestingly the
> individual portions (i.e. files) of the project could lapse from copyright
> (and, therefore, GPL protection), even while copyright subsists in the
> entire collection as a whole, unless the project could be claimed to be a
> database, and subject to a relatively perpetual protection under a sui
> generis database right (which exists in the EU). [1]

That's Directive 96/9/EC. I do not think the sui generis
database protection can be applied to computer programs. There
has to be qualitatively and/or quantitatively a substantial
investment in either the obtaining, verification or presentation of
the contents (art. 7(1)). European caselaw seems to focus on the
principle that the investment has to be primarily aimed at these
activities. If the database is a "spin-off", a byproduct of something
else, it's not protected.
http://www.ivir.nl/publications/hugenholtz/fordham2001.html

Note that this right is not available for producers of databases
who live outside the EC member states (art. 11(2)).

Arnoud

-- 
Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch patent attorney - Speaking only for myself
Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: http://www.iusmentis.com/
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