What About What Constitutes a "Derived Work?" [LWN.net]

What About What Constitutes a "Derived Work?"

Posted Dec 11, 2003 15:01 UTC (Thu) by mimurphy (guest, #17752)
Parent article: The GPL Is a License, not a Contract

What about the problem of what constitutes a 'Derived Work?' If I look at a bunch of GPL code then work on a proprietary product, wouldn't there be an exposure to the claim that the proprietary product is now a 'derived work' of that GPL product?

So, if the proprietary product were to be released... it would have to be under the GPL to avoid damages, lawyer fees, and distribution-stopping injunctions.

Considering the ever increasing availability of GPL software, it would seem to get more and more difficult to claim that no GPL software has ever been looked at.

Mike

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What About What Constitutes a "Derived Work?"

Posted Apr 28, 2004 14:35 UTC (Wed) by MeMyself (guest, #21227) [Link]

How does merely "looking at software" make similar work derived?
If I read a sci-fi novel, then surely I am not prevented from ever
writing one myself in the future? Yes, I am prevented from copying
chunks of text from existing sci-fi novels, even if I change the
names of all the characters (eg: variable names in software).

I am free to read a book and then write my own, as long as I do not
copy from any existing copyrighted work. Similarly, I am free to look
at someone else's code, and then write my own code that is similar,
yet not a copy of their work.

IANAL, so I am asking rather than stating...