For Approval: BSD License, PostgreSQL Variant

[Chuck Swiger]

On Oct 12, 2007, at 10:57 AM, dlw wrote:
>> Someone who does none of these things is not bound by the GPL.
>
> That's a sure-fire tautology.

Very good.  If you understand this point, why waste your time and  
ours citing EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc?

> CS you demonstrate a remarkable facility for ignoring the text of  
> the license under discussion.

The first time someone makes a clever remark, they perhaps are a wit.
The second time someone else reiterates that same phrase, that person  
is a half-wit.

Sort of a geometric progression, you see...

> I assume there are those who endeavour to accept the terms of the  
> GPL license. Further, I assume those who do accept are aware of   
> sec. 2(b) of the GPL which states:
>
> "b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in  
> whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any  
> part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third  
> parties under the terms of this License."
>
> See the "all third parties" who are the intended third party  
> beneficiaries?  They must be "caused" by the licensee to be bound
> "under the terms of this License". That's the heart of the  
> "copyleft theory" of Richard Stallman -- an unbounded recursive  
> contract to make a contract to make a contract to make a contract  
> make a contract. . . ad infinitum.

You're mistaken.

The GPL obligates people who copy/redistribute/modify something  
licensed under the GPL to abide by Section 2(b).  Specifically, those  
people are obliged to make the offer that the GPL'ed work will be  
available to all third parties at no charge, but the third parties  
being mentioned do not need to accept that offer.  Hence, these third  
parties are not bound by the GPL-- unless and until they do something  
like copy/redistribute/modify such GPL'ed software themselves.

Since you obviously don't intend to discuss a license which is under  
review, all of this is off-topic for the OSI license-discuss list.   
Please take your discussion elsewhere; I'm done with this thread.

-- 
-Chuck