GPLv3 does its best to clarify this [LWN.net]

GPLv3 does its best to clarify this

Posted Feb 24, 2006 17:25 UTC (Fri) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954)
In reply to: GPLv3 does its best to clarify this by coriordan
Parent article: Wasabi white paper on kernel modules

I'm not sure about the legal basis (whether the copyright holder has the control to enforce that)

Remember that these are just conditions on the license, not some right granted to the copyright owner by copyright law.

There are virtually no restrictions on conditions to a license, because of the fact that the copyright owner isn't required to give copying/deriving permission at all. The most onerous of conditions are no worse than no license at all.

...can help a judge to interpret the intent of a licensor

I really don't think the judge cares. It's what the licensor licensed, not what he intended to license. It's not like a contract, where the judge looks for the common intent of all the parties. But maybe it helps with the "spirit" of the license, which is something the licensee might be expected to understand and abide by.

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