[Python-Dev] DRAFT: python-dev Summary for 2006-01-01 through 2006-01-15 (original) (raw)

Stephen J. Turnbull stephen at xemacs.org
Sun Jan 29 17:55:36 CET 2006

"Martin" == Martin v Löwis <martin at v.loewis.de> writes:

>> BTW. The argument that the readline module should be GPL
>> licensed seems rather stronger, it's designed to work with a
>> GPL-ed library and doesn't work with a BSD licensed work-alike
>> of that library.

Martin> This is the question what constitutes derivative work, and
Martin> different lawyers have said different things in the
Martin> past. If we really want to find out, we should ask a
Martin> lawyer.

You also need to ask about the cost of defending against a lawsuit by the FSF, which is both the copyright holder of the library and the primary advocate of the interpretation that a work which is intended to be linked with another work is a derivative. I think the FSF pretty much would have to fight any claims that contest its interpretation of the concept of "derived work", because any interpretation that requires a direct source-to-source copy will make the GPL irrelevant.

-- School of Systems and Information Engineering http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp University of Tsukuba Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN Ask not how you can "do" free software business; ask what your business can "do for" free software.

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