Question on OSD #5

[Chris Travers]

On Dec 15, 2007 8:39 AM, Arnoud Engelfriet <arnoud at engelfriet.net> wrote:

> Dag-Erling Sm??rgrav wrote:
> > "Chris Travers" <chris.travers at gmail.com> writes:
> > > I have seen licenses which purport to require that anyone who modifies
> a
> > > work send a patch back to the original developer.  If this is
> triggered on
> > > any modification, then "private" modifications aren't so private
> anymore.
> >
> > I realize that YANAL, but is this even legal / enforcable?
>
> Why not? It's a condition on the right to create derivative works.
> Sure, it's onerous, but generally not that onerous that it would be
> unenforceable.


The enforcibility issue outside the courtroom would probably have to do with
how you might know someone was modifying your software.  If you knew, then
the question becomes to what extent this is allowed in copyright law.
IANAL, but I believe that in the US, there have been copyright misuse
defenses which have prevailed in cases like this.  The idea is that
preparation of derivative works doesn't mean automatic rights to one's
customers' works.  Note this would be well beyond the level of what the GPL
purports to do because in these cases, the issue would be a single party
gaining access to such work, rather than a reciprocal licensing agreement to
third parties.  (I believe the concern had to do with monopolization of
modifications made by customers).

>
> The biggest difficulty I see is whether this means *any* modification
> and how soon after its making it should be submitted? Every modification
> that makes it into a "stable" version? Every modification that compiles?
> Every modification I put in cvs? Every modification I save?


Furthermore, does this mean I have to send you every version of every
configuration file I ever make in the process of setting up the software?

Interestingly, this is one of the interesting issues you have with the
AGPL-- since changing a configuration file is obviously changing the
distributed copyrighted work.....

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
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