AdrianTM |
06-29-2005 03:08 PM |
Your arguments don't stand just because you say so.
Mepis CD is not a derivate work, it's a collection of GPL software and other software that have different licenses (LGPL, OSL, individual licenses, etc) and the license for a package doesn't contaminate the license of another. You are going to have big problems to convince anyone (even a judge) that Mepis CD is "one program"
If you are not a lawyer you have to have a little bit of common sense to see that, if what you claim would be true you'll never be able to put on a CD _any_ GPL software together with other type of licenses since the GPL would contaminate the other programs (notice that there's nowhere in your post about "derivative work" a way to determine which procent of a work has to be used in order to make the product a "derivative work" so if you put a small GPL software on a CD it would mean that all the CD is a derivative work according to your logic). That is not true is evident only from that fact that there are so many distros and many other products that put together GPL software and other type of software.
Anyway your argument is not good only for the simple fact that that link that you provided as argument doesn't refer to software. Software is not articles, paintings or maps.
As for individual packages that are not GPL: mepis-oscenter, flash, java, acrobat readear and others they are also not derivate of other packages and they do not interact with GPL software in such a way so they will be considered modification or improvements of GPL software (read the quote from GPL FAQ about plug-ins).
And finally, the spirit (the purpose) of GPL is to protect the GPLed code and it's modification to remain free. That remains true for the GPL software installed on the CD. It's freely available from Debian (probably fastest way to get it) and from Mepis upon request. So... where is the GPL infrigment? What is not available is the non-GPL code and that's that.
If GPL would be interpreted as you say it would be a huge disservice to Free software, few would use it and Microsoft propaganda that GPL is viral would be true.
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