Regarding the GPL...

pujolasdf · 03-29-2005, 03:39 PM

So if I want to publish a program under the GPL, I will only need to add the default header to my code and that's it? If someone steals my code, erases the license, it is supposed that I'll have to demonstrate that mine is the full version of the code?

Thanks.

dns21 · 03-29-2005, 05:12 PM

This is true, anybody may use the GPL when licensing a project. As far as prohibiting others from taking your code and licensing it, if the software is documented somewhere like sourceforge or freshmeat and people start downloading it, I'm assuming, excuse my vernacular, not many people would have the balls to attempt to make it proprietary.

pujolasdf · 03-30-2005, 04:54 AM

Ok. I thought of that because recently the 'SGAE', a Spanish organization of "authors and editors" (mostly editors, I believe) stole the definition of the Spanish Wikipedia of the article 'Linux' and had the balls to set their own copyright. The Spanish wikipedians had to attack and received a small victory: the SGAE added a footnote saying they borrowed it from Wikipedia.

dns21 · 03-30-2005, 10:33 PM

Interesting...

They weren't actually trying to do something about it though were they?

johnMG · 03-31-2005, 12:46 PM

> So if I want to publish a program under the GPL, I will only need to add the default
> header to my code and that's it?

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.html

Hko · 04-01-2005, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dns21
I'm assuming, excuse my vernacular, not many people would have the balls to attempt to make it proprietary.

This does seem to happen, even by big companies.
A NetFilter developer visited the booths of some companies who alledgedly are violating the GPL at Europe's largest IT-trade fair (CeBIT), trying to get them comply.
Read about it here: http://news.com.com/Open-source+prog...3-5621156.html

Some other info about GPL violation and enforcement:
http://gpl-violations.org/
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/enforcing-gpl.html