Can Java code EVER be GPLd, at all?

[Ken Arromdee]

On Sat, 13 Nov 1999, Justin Wells wrote:
> But new technologies like perl, Java, CORBA, etc., are changing this
> and I would like to think about what kind of license could be used 
> that would be fair and would still impose a "copyleft" of some sort on 
> these new technologies in order to promote the development of future
> free software (let's leave the philosophical debate about whether I 
> would succeed, whether this is right, etc., for another day--let's 
> just talk about the technical and OSD compliance issues today.)

I had an idea a while back.  I make no claim that doing this is a good idea
even if it works (it was originally a reductio ad absurdum, not a serious
idea), and anyway I'm not a lawyer.

The GPL only applies when you distribute copies of a GPL program or derived
works of it.  It operates by the fact that under copyright law, the default is
not to allow people to copy at all, so that if someone doesn't agree to the
GPL, they can't distribute.  Modifying the GPL to restrict use instead of
distribution would not work, because the default is that you _can_ use a
program that you have a legitimate copy of, so someone who doesn't agree to
such a modified GPL would still be able to use it.

My idea was that if you want to restrict use, you put in a clause saying that
people may only distribute to other people who agree to the usage restriction.

You have no right to distribute to someone who doesn't agree.  That is, if
you're distributing to someone who doesn't agree, you're distributing illegal
copies.  Since there is no right to use illegal copies, anyone who doesn't
agree has no right to use the program.  So either the recipient agrees (and
has the right to use the program only in accordance with the restrictions)
or disagrees, and received a pirated copy, and has no right to use it at all.

Notable flaws of this scheme include the fact that since the distributor has
to get his recipients to agree to a contract, it would be impossible to
distribute the software in situations like stores or ftp sites.  This might be
fixable if the author agrees in advance not to sue such distributors, but
I'm not sure; again, I'm not a lawyer.