The GPL Is a License, not a Contract [LWN.net]

The GPL Is a License, not a Contract

Posted Dec 4, 2003 3:17 UTC (Thu) by coriordan (guest, #7544)
In reply to: The GPL Is a License, not a Contract by torsten
Parent article: The GPL Is a License, not a Contract

huh?
Nothing can "stop a company from incorporating GPL code to begin with". Just as nothing can stop a company from incorporating this comment into their work. Prevention is just impossible. But it's illegal, and breaking the law has consequences, and society hopes that these consequences are scary enough to discourage people from breaking the law "to begin with".

> do I need to demonstrate financial damage, or is
> simple infringement enough to collect?

Infringement is enough to collect. Eben Moglen explained all this.

P.S great article.

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The GPL Is a License, not a Contract

Posted Dec 4, 2003 6:41 UTC (Thu) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]

in fact it's perfectly legal to incorporate GPL code into propriatary software, as long as you don't then distribute the result.

The GPL Is a License, not a Contract

Posted Dec 5, 2003 16:05 UTC (Fri) by tcabot (subscriber, #6656) [Link]

My alma mater's motto seems appropriate here: "Leges sine moribus vanae", or "Laws without morals are in vain".