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Not So Simple
Not So Simple
Posted Dec 4, 2003 18:18 UTC (Thu) by ncm (subscriber, #165)In reply to: Not So Simple by amikins
Parent article: The GPL Is a License, not a Contract
Where does anything say that a license can't be retracted? Thus far nobody has cited anything stronger than their own fervent wish.
The law certainly allows you to retract permission for the use of your property any time, subject to any contractual obligations you have entered into. If there's no contract, there are no obligations on the copyright holder.
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Not So Simple
Posted Dec 5, 2003 21:11 UTC (Fri) by freethinker (guest, #4397) [Link]
Section 0:This License applies to any program or other work which contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed under the terms of this General Public License. The "Program", below, refers to any such program or work, and a "work based on the Program" means either the Program or any derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Program or a portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated into another language. (Hereinafter, translation is included without limitation in the term "modification".) Each licensee is addressed as "you".
To me this says that as long as the notice is there, you're licensed. If you redistribute, as long as the recipients' copies have the notice, they're licensed. And so on, as long as anyone has a copy.