<div dir="ltr">hi Rick<div><br></div><div>Everything you say is true, but asking FSF was way cheaper than asking a judge in a court of law ;-)</div><div style>I don't have enough money and interest - that's what open source is about, right?</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>Grahame</div><div style><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 8:17 AM, Rick Moen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com" target="_blank">rick@linuxmafia.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">Quoting Grahame Grieve (<a href="mailto:grahame@healthintersections.com.au">grahame@healthintersections.com.au</a>):<br>
<br>
> About Java and GPL:<br>
> <a href="http://www.healthintersections.com.au/?p=1225" target="_blank">http://www.healthintersections.com.au/?p=1225</a><br>
<br>
</div>Meaning no disrepect to FSF, but asking them the legal application of<br>
GPL v 3 to a specific situation commits a depressingly common category<br>
error.<br>
<br>
(1) In the general case, they are not even the licensor.<br>
<br>
(2) In any court case, the judge will be looking primarily to<br>
the wording of the written licence to determine licensor's intent,<br>
not to somebody's essay on a Web site.<br>
<br>
FSF has a famously maximalist notion of what 'derviative work' means,<br>
particularly in the GPL FAQ -- which you quoted as if it were an<br>
authority on the subject. I do not concur about it being that. It<br>
expresses, in effect, what FSF would like, not what is.<br>
<br>
I would also expect the licensing and compliance manager at FSF (meaning<br>
no disrespect to Mr. Joshua Gay), whom you likewise quoted as if he were<br>
an authority, to reflect FSF's view about what it would like to be true.<br>
<br>
You say 'perception is reality' and therefore FSF's opinion has real<br>
weight. Again, with no offence intended to FSF, no, sir. Perception is<br>
not reality. Relevant court-precedent citations are reality. ;-> [1]<br>
<br>
It is indeed quite valuable to develop an understanding of what<br>
'derivative work' (the copyright-law term of art you are indirectly<br>
reflecting when you quote GPLv3's jargon about 'covered work'). I<br>
recommend reading caselaw.<br>
<br>
If you have sufficient money and interest, you could instead pay a<br>
really competent copyright attorney to analyse for you how the law<br>
applies to your situation. (I would recommend listening attentively but<br>
also skepically, and asking sharp questions, as there is plenty of bad<br>
advice available from lawyers, too.) Personally, I find reading caselaw<br>
to meet my needs, but Your Mileage May Differ<tm>.<br>
<br>
<br>
[1] As is common with civil law, you look for application of the legal<br>
principals, regardless of the industry in question. So, the cases<br>
concern games (Lewis Galoob Toys v Nintendo America, Sega v. Accolade),<br>
music (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose), and only rarely software (Kelly v.<br>
Arriba, Perfect 10 v. Amazon). No, you won't find a Circuit judge<br>
saying exactly where the edge of derivative works is for GPLv3-covered<br>
works used by Java coders, but that's not necessary to get the general<br>
gist of how the concept works.<br>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
--<br>
Cheers, Actually, time flies hate a banana.<br>
Rick Moen -- Micah Joel<br>
<a href="mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com">rick@linuxmafia.com</a><br>
McQ! (4x80)<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>-----<br><a href="http://www.healthintersections.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.healthintersections.com.au</a> / <a href="mailto:grahame@healthintersections.com.au" target="_blank">grahame@healthintersections.com.au</a> / +61 411 867 065
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