GPL modules for a differently licensed OS'

Posted Sep 16, 2007 19:54 UTC (Sun) by nim-nim (subscriber, #34454)
In reply to: GPL modules for a differently licensed OS' by sepreece
Parent article: Relicensing: what's legal and what's right

Ideas in the protected work being idea expressions.

Anyway.

You are not allowed to "rephrase" a copyrighted works idea expressions.

Copyright law allows looking at something to produce something else. Copyright law allows not looking at something to produce the same thing.

But copyright law forbids translation of something in the same something in another language/medium/format whatever. It does not take a judge a lot to decide something else is effectively something else. But mere rephrasing won't do.

Just ask J K Rowling what she thinks about your legal theory. I believe she sent a few rephrasers to jail.