A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code

Posted May 22, 2016 3:49 UTC (Sun) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106)
In reply to: A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code by smoogen
Parent article: A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code

The term is statutory damage, not statutory fine, and it's a purely a matter of civil law. The idea is that each infringement is assumed to be a set amount of damage without requiring proof of such damages by the copyright holder. (If proof of damage were required, as a just law would require, we could dispense with the entire concept of copyright—as there is no such thing as actual damage due to copyright infringement.)

A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code

Posted May 22, 2016 4:55 UTC (Sun) by karath (subscriber, #19025) [Link] (2 responses)

All armchair lawyers should be very aware that every jurisdiction is different, some in small degrees and some in fundamentally qualitative approach. In Singapore, as a condition of joining a free trade agreement with the US, copyright infringement is now a criminal offence. Sentencing can include both fines and prison terms. My understanding is that this was imposed by the sponsors in the US as an attempted lever to eventually get a similar measure enacted into US Federal law - something that has been rejected when attempted in the past.

A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code

Posted May 23, 2016 2:09 UTC (Mon) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]

US law encompasses both civil and criminal varieties of copyright infringement. However, the idea of statutory damages is only applicable to civil cases. Damages—and for that matter niceties like standing and even proportional response—aren't really a factor in criminal cases regardless of jurisdiction, just whether the law was broken and whatever punishment the law prescribes for such offenses.

A discussion on combining CDDL and GPL code

Posted May 26, 2016 10:27 UTC (Thu) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

> In Singapore, as a condition of joining a free trade agreement with the US, copyright infringement is now a criminal offence.

Likewise, in the UK, copyright infringement for gain (which is what Canonical are doing, and they are based in the British Isles) is also a criminal offense.

Cheers,
Wol