SCO readies new Linux licensing program (InfoWorld)

SCO readies new Linux licensing program (InfoWorld)

Posted Jul 21, 2003 15:23 UTC (Mon) by pyellman (guest, #4997)
In reply to: SCO readies new Linux licensing program (InfoWorld) by ekj
Parent article: SCO readies new Linux licensing program (InfoWorld)

>You don't need to worry about the GPL. This comes up over and over and over again, "What if a court found the GPL invalid?"

Nowhere in my post do I make anything approaching such a global statement; the word "invalid" does not appear in my post. However, if you and the following poster believe that (1) the GPL is in no way different from any other software license, and (2) the fact that the GPL has never been tested raises no concerns about when and how that eventuality will be dealt with, then you have some serious blinders on. The point I was making was not that the GPL could be declared "invalid" in one fell swoop, but that it is important the first public "test" of the GPL be a victory, no matter how large or small, in its favor, and conversely, that a negative outcome in any such first test could be uniquely damaging. Keep in mind that you are dealing here with corporations such as Microsoft whose lifeblood is long-term litigation; chipping away at open source and the GPL in the courts is exactly their intent, and getting that first one in their pockets would be significant.

Peter Yellman

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