Compatibility of the AFL with the GPL

Thu Mar 13 10:48:56 UTC 2003

My answer (or rather my question) is does Larry have an alter ego known as
"Joe Hacker" who wants to get back at people on this list making the use of
his license so complicated? ;-)

More seriously, I think the hypo adds to rather than substracts from the
confusion on this topic.

The initial question concerned "compatibility of the AFL with the GPL." In
that respect, it is worth keeping in mind that "compatibility" is not a term
of legal significance in software licensing matters. As I under the term,
Stallman uses it to evaluate license provisions and how he thinks they may
impact the GPL. I do not find difficulty in acknowledging that FSF is the
arbiter of what they deem is compatible or not; this is particularly so in
an environment like a list discussion since FSF would be expected to provide
some rational basis for its determinations on compatibility - - to the
extent the determinations are not considered rational, no one or few will
care that the determinations exist.

With regard to the AFL and GPL in Larry's hypo, I think Stallman has
indicated ostensibly that since the AFL "restricts" BigLo's choice to
identify or market its software product as "Whizbanger Deluxe," (without
permission...yadda, yadda, yadda) the AFL imposes a restriction that exceeds
those imposed by the GPL. If this makes the AFL incompatible with the GPL, I
do not think we can argue away the point. I think the point the FSF may be
making is that they have a fairly high threshold for compatibility with the
GPL, and that may be intended to exert some control over how these licenses
interact in complex transactions.

I think the hypo makes the point (inadvertently or otherwise) that
compatibility with the GPL is not an issue concerning who might get sued for
what.

Rod

Rod Dixon
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Rutgers University Law School - Camden
rod at cyberspaces.org
http://www.cyberspaces.org/dixon/
My papers on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) are available
through the following url: http://papers.ssrn.com/author=240132

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lawrence E. Rosen" <lrosen at rosenlaw.com>
To: "'Brian Behlendorf'" <brian at collab.net>
Cc: <license-discuss at opensource.org>; <rms at gnu.org>; "'Eben Moglen'"
<moglen at columbia.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 11:46 PM
Subject: RE: Compatibility of the AFL with the GPL

: OK, guys, play with me one more round.  This time, let's do it in the
: form of a law school exam question and let's get the lawyers and IANALs
: on this list to chime in:
:
: SCENARIO: Several faculty members at Prestigious University have created
: a marvelous new package that takes input from a keyboard and displays it
: on a monitor faster than any program ever has before.  They decide to
: release it to the public under the name WhizBanger.  The P.U. general
: counsel tells them to license it using the AFL.  He registers, on behalf
: of the University, the trademark WhizBanger for "computer software that
: reads from a keyboard and displays on a monitor."
:
: Linus Torvalds learns about WhizBanger and he and his team decide to
: include WhizBanger in their new release of Linux.  As usual, they
: release their new Linux, with full source code, under the GPL.  The
: Debian project thinks the new release of Linux is wonderful.  They
: include the modified Linux in their new distribution, also under the
: GPL.
:
: Brian Behlendorf learns about WhizBanger and he convinces the Apache
: team to include WhizBanger in their new release of Apache.  As usual,
: they release with full source code under the Apache license.
:
: BigCo brings Debian Linux into its research labs.  Its engineers,
: thrilled to finally be using free software, incorporate Linux into a
: computer product they call WhizBanger Deluxe.  They claim in their
: advertisements that this product is so wonderful that Linus Torvalds
: uses it and "he recommends it to his friends."  WhizBanger Deluxe is
: sold worldwide.  There's an entry-level version that is released under
: the GPL, and a full-function version that is released under a
: proprietary license.
:
: MediumCo also brings Debian Linux and Apache into the company, using
: those programs to do payroll and accounts payable functions.  At a
: review meeting with his patent attorney, the CEO of MediumCo discovers
: that his company has a U.S. patent for a "computer system that accepts
: input from a keyboard and displays it on a screen."  Dreaming of vast
: royalties, he tells his attorneys to file a lawsuit against Prestigious
: University for patent infringement by WhizBanger software.
:
: Meanwhile, Sally Developer, who respects and admires the Free Software
: Foundation and has sworn to uphold the principles espoused by Richard
: Stallman, discovers that Linus Torvalds included an AFL-licensed program
: in Linux.  She's pissed.  She's so angry she's considering revoking her
: license for a printer driver that's been a part of Linux since version
: 1.
:
: Joe Hacker, a high school student, downloads copies of WhizBanger,
: Linux, Apache, and the entry-level version of WhizBanger Deluxe from
: download.com.  He's getting very upset about all the licensing
: controversy that he's heard on license-discuss and he wants to get back
: at the people who are making his use of software so complicated.
:
: QUESTIONS:
:
:    - Which of the parties identified above has a possible cause of
: action
:      against any other party?  [For the non-lawyers in the house,
: consider
:      copyright law, patent law, contract law, business torts, and
: fraud.]
:
:    - What are the possible defenses that could be asserted to protect
: against
:      those causes of action?
:
:    - How would you measure damages for those causes of action?
:
:    - Would anything be different if the AFL were more compatible with
: the GPL?
:
: In considering your answers, ignore that fact that Richard Stallman and
: I have expressed contradictory opinions about the licenses.  Neither RMS
: nor I are possible parties to any cause of action involving this
: scenario, although we might be called as expert witnesses by one side or
: another.
:
: I'm looking forward to your answers.  :-)
:
: /Larry Rosen
:
: --
: license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3

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