Automatic GPL termination
dlw
danw6144 at insightbb.com
Mon Sep 3 21:45:40 UTC 2007
>> "...provided the stated conditions are met."
What if the stated conditions are not met?
License rescission is not nearly as simple as some think. A good example
is this link concerning California law:
http://www.kinseylaw.com/clientserv2/civillitigationserv/rescission/rescission.html
"In addition to giving prompt notice of rescission, the party seeking
rescissionary relief must "promptly," upon discovering the facts
entitling him or her to rescind, restore to the other party "everything
of value" received under the contract or offer to restore the benefits
received "upon condition that the other party do likewise" . . . unless
the other party "is unable or positively refuses to do so." [Ca Civil §
1691(b)] This restoration of benefits accomplishes the ultimate purpose
of rescission--i.e., to return the parties to their precontract status
quo positions. Thus, in a real property purchase and sale transaction, a
rescission normally requires the buyer to return the property (title) to
the seller and the seller to return the funds received from the buyer.
A formal offer to restore the contractual benefits received is not
required. Plaintiff's service of the complaint seeking rescissionary
relief "shall be deemed" to be the requisite offer. [Ca Civil § 1691]"
After a GPL derivative work is released over the internet to thousands
of servers how does a plaintiff return all the initial copyright
permissions that were exchanged prior to terminating the license?
Sometimes it's impossible to put the cat back in the bag.
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