Which License should I pick?

jacobus.vosloo at daimlerchrysler.com jacobus.vosloo at daimlerchrysler.com
Thu Dec 4 08:30:57 UTC 2003


You are in a very gray area here...
The question whether the memory snapshot is a derived work of the
application, depends on the occasion where it was taken and the definitions
you use.
Following is an example; hopefully the lawyers around here will expand on
it.

Consider MS Windows's Hibernate to disk functionality:
1) You take a standard licensed version of windows.
2) Add some user interaction.
3) Hibernate Windows to a hibernation file.

Using the "Classical Definition" of a "derivative work" it can be reasoned
that:
Before step 3) the memory space contains a "derivative work" of windows.
The hibernation file contains the source "code/data" for recreating this
"derivative work".
Lets say that this Hibernate function was not a standard feature of
Windows, but a separate program written by someone else. This program will
in effect be creating a patch for Windows to create this "derivative work"

Reconsider: Moral and "Fair Use" reasoning:
Before step 3) the memory space contains a copyrightable work that is the
result of the user using Windows.
The hibernation file does not contain Windows; it contains the essence of
the user's actions.
Even though this file can only be "viewed" using Windows, it should be the
property of the user.  Just like a Word document is not a "derivative work"
of Word, but the property of the user.

Regards

Jaco Vosloo
Application Integrator for .Net

------------------------------------------------------------
DEFINE: Derivative Work
http://www.google.com/search?q=define:DERIVATIVE+WORK

"Classical Definition"
DERIVATIVE WORK - A work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as
a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion
picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment,
condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed,
or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations,
elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an
original work of authorship, is a 'derivative work'. 17 U.S.C.
(http://www.lectlaw.com/def/d042.htm)

"Software Definition"
Thread: "Derivative Work" for Software Defined
http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3:sss:6391:200301:bhkfkonfkjemkcebmknk#b

------------------------------------------------------------
DEFINE: Fair Use
http://www.google.com/search?q=define:Fair+Use

------------------------------------------------------------
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                      scott at neuralnw.c                                                                                                 
                      om                       To:      license-discuss at opensource.org                                                 
                                               cc:                                                                                     
                      2003/12/04 12:26         Subject: Re: Which License should I pick?                                               
                      AM                                                                                                               
                      Please respond                                                                                                   
                      to scott                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       



On Wed, 3 Dec 2003, Daniel Carrera wrote:

> > SECOND LINE OF QUESTIONS:
> >
> > The project itself performs actions on the in-core binary images of
> > running processes. It is capable of saving snapshots of the address
> > spaces of running processes to disk. I would like to have
> > clarification whether or not such snapshots would be considered
> > "derived works" of the programs they came from. Would it be legal to
> > distribute one of these binary snapshots if it came from a running
> > program which is licensed under a more restrictive license such as the
> > GPL?
>
> I'm not sure I understand this.
>
> Snapshots are binary objects, right?
>
> Yes, you can release them under the GPL, but I don't see the point.

No, that isn't what I meant -- I'm not talking about "releasing" the
snapshots under any license at all. This line of questioning is
totally unrelated to the license I choose for *my* project. What I'm
asking is whether it would actually be illegal to distribute such
snapshots for the following reason:

Imagine that I take a memory snapshot of a running Emacs process. I then
send this snapshot to somebody else. If the snapshot is considered a
derived work, then I've just made a "binary only" distribution of Emacs,
therefore violating the GPL. This would mean that in order to exchange
such snapshots, people would have to make the source code to Emacs
available from the same location, correct?

Basically my question is, if I use my program to take a snapshot of a
GPL'd program and then post that snapshot on a website, am I violating
the GPL? If that were true, it would seem that posting a core file of a
GPL'd application on the website would also be illegal.

The difference being, a core file actually contains executable
instructions from the original binary on disk. My format is different --
it only contains the DIFFERENCES between what is in memory and what is on
disk. So I'm wondering if my snapshots are derived works or not.

Thanks,

Scott Long

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