The text of IBM's counterclaims [LWN.net]

The text of IBM's counterclaims

Posted Aug 8, 2003 22:11 UTC (Fri) by dmantione (guest, #4640)
In reply to: The text of IBM's counterclaims by vonbrand
Parent article: The text of IBM's counterclaims

Exactly, it's perfectly legal to license some open source software to someone, and then
license some of your other "intelectual property" to the same person under a different
license.

BUT, because the GPL does not allow you to link GPL code against non-gpl code, the
user cannot legally combine both pieces. This would mean the end user cannot legally
use Linux, wether or not he has an SCO license.

SCO did still violate the GPL, because by compiling a Linux kernel, they link what they
claim as non-GPL code to GPL code, which is not allowed.

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The text of IBM's counterclaims

Posted Aug 8, 2003 23:33 UTC (Fri) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

SCO did still violate the GPL, because by compiling a Linux kernel, they link what they claim as non-GPL code to GPL code, which is not allowed.

Not quite right. It's permitted to links non-GPL code to GPL code, as long as none of the provisions of the GPL are violated. (Thus, you can link no-advertising-clause BSD-licensed code to GPLed code freely.)

The problem with SCO's situation is that their non-GPL code has more restrictions than the GPL. That is not allowed, under clause 6 of the GPL.

The text of IBM's counterclaims

Posted Aug 11, 2003 17:14 UTC (Mon) by leandro (guest, #1460) [Link]

> the user cannot legally combine both pieces. This would mean the end user cannot legally use Linux

Anyone can use any GPL code. The restrictions are on redistributing it.

The text of IBM's counterclaims

Posted Aug 11, 2003 17:48 UTC (Mon) by playfair (guest, #13918) [Link]

Seems, from reading the GPL, that anyone who buys a SCO license breaches the GPL and must stop using Linux and probably all other GPL software.

Buying a license becomes an agreement under the terms of the section 7 quoted above.

So anyone who pays SCO for a license gets screwed by SCO and screws themselves, too.