[License-review] License compatibility for FOSS aggregations

[Lawrence Rosen]

John Cowan wrote:
> What he can do, _according to the way most people think about
> it_, is prevent Alice from putting chunks of his GPLed code into
> later versions of her proprietary software.

Even if those later versions are also not derivative? They frequently
aren't, you know. Not every piece of linking proprietary code relies on
knowing how GPL programs work or are derived from them.

Please don't resort to excuses like "according to the way most people think
about it." Most people *may* be wrong. :-) In this situation, Linus Torvalds
is not going to be able to affect, in any way, the concurrent use of
non-derivative copyrighted works as long as his FOSS license is
OSD-compliant.

/Larry

-----Original Message-----
From: John Cowan [mailto:cowan at mercury.ccil.org] 
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2014 8:55 AM
To: Lawrence Rosen
Cc: 'License submissions for OSI review'
Subject: Re: [License-review] License compatibility for FOSS aggregations

Lawrence Rosen scripsit:

> For example, John, you omitted a key fact when you analyzed my Riddle 
> #6. I said that "Alice's original proprietary program was written and 
> Alice's copyright registered on it the year Linus Torvalds was born." 
> Linus is supremely talented but I'm confident he can't go back in time 
> and claim rights over those very early works.

Of course he can't, though I don't know why you mentioned Linus
specifically: he's not one for enforcing his rights to the uttermost
farthing anyway.  What he can do, _according to the way most people think
about it_, is prevent Alice from putting chunks of his GPLed code into later
versions of her proprietary software.

-- 
John Cowan          http://www.ccil.org/~cowan        cowan at ccil.org
Humpty Dump Dublin squeaks through his norse
                Humpty Dump Dublin hath a horrible vorse But for all his
kinks English / And his irismanx brogues
                Humpty Dump Dublin's grandada of all rogues.  --Cousin James