Robert Feldt <feldt / ce.chalmers.se> wrote:
>
>On Fri, 12 Jan 2001, Dave Thomas wrote:
>
[...]
>BTW, my summary of the discussion so far is on
>http://www.ce.chalmers.se/~feldt/ruby/summaries/licensing_ruby_extensions_and_tools.html
>
One point that is missing.  What is an is not accomplishable
through copyright law need not be the limit of what is and
is not accomplishable through copyrights.  The idea is so
far untested in court, but Richard Stallman's own GPL shows
you how to do it.

You write a copyright statement that tells people they have
no right to your stuff, but offers them a contract they may
agree to which gives them the right to do things covered
under copyright law.  (The idea is not unlike a shrinkwrap
license but IMO (IANAL) makes more sense.)

Now if you find them using your copyrighted code in a way
that violates that contract then they either never agreed
to the contract (which means that they are in violation of
copyright law) or else they did and they are violating
contract law.  Contract law allows virtually anything.  OK,
you can't sell yourself into slavery*.

Read the GPL carefully.  Most of its provisions are not
enforcable under copyright law.  Which is why it is written
as a contract.

Cheers,
Ben

* No joke.  Slavery is one of the significant limitations.
For a cautionary tale about what is both possible and
typical, see http://www.stormy-mondays.com/home/albini.htm.
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