Re: Possible GPL Violation of Linux in Amstrad's E3 Videophone

[Jeff V. Merkey]

> Umm.. It's OK to take the GPL'ed source and make your own fork for your own
> amusement.  Trying to distribute it without accepting the GPL on the parts
> you're shipping copies of *is* a problem. As the COPYING file says:
>
>  5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
> signed it.  However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or
> distribute the Program or its derivative works.  These actions are
> prohibited by law if you do not accept this License.  Therefore, by
> modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the
> Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and
> all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying
> the Program or works based on it.
>
> So you have three choices: You can accept the terms of the GPL, and comply
> with them, or you can not ship those pieces covered by the GPL (basically
> the entire kernel), or you can ship it in violation and wait for the hate
> mail to start arriving..... 
>
>
>  
And the hate mail is the only thing that will arrive.   The GPL doesn't 
really seem
to protect anyone since the copyright holders really can't do much with 
it.  I've
got a bunch of people using GPL code I've put out there in all sorts of 
commercial
products and Can't do anything to them for failing to return changes.  
They can always
say they didn't accept the license then convert the code into their own IP .

Jeff
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