Re: Article: IBM wants to "clean up the license" of Linux

Khimenko Victor (khim@sch57.msk.ru)
Thu, 31 Dec 1998 04:55:48 +0300 (MSK)


In <19981230082452.A14213@craie.inetnebr.com> Jeff Epler (jepler@inetnebr.com) wrote:
> On Tue, Dec 29, 1998 at 05:35:39PM -0500, C S Hendrix wrote:
>> I didn't know you could custom-tailor the GPL to your uses.

> You can't.

Of course you can. GNU GPL itself is not copyrighted at all ...

> | GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
> | Version 2, June 1991
> |
> | Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
> | 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
> | Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
> | of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> So, I am not allowed to distribute my program with a license which changes
> the first two lines to say "Jeff's Public License\\ Version 2, December
> 1998" and strikes the paragraph about using other version numbers.

You could do this but in this case you COULD NOT claim that you distribute
your program under GNU GPL terms.

> In other words, the GPL is not itself covered by the GPL. (And, if it were,
> which version would it be covered by?:)

> However, I might be able to write the Gnu GPL in "COPYING.GNU" and in
> "COPYING" (and elsewhere prominently) write that this software is
> copyrighted under the terms specified in "COPYING.GNU" with certain
> modifications. Thus, the document describing the GNU GPL isn't modified,
> but I do describe the license I desire in terms of the GPL.

You could use GPL text any way you want but if you atler it you could not call
it "GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE" ... That is if you change something you should
change fair enough to make sure that noone will think that this is GNU GPL ...

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/