Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: Linus Speaks About KDE-Bashing | Date | Mon, 13 Jul 1998 11:25:26 -0700 | From | Craig Milo Rogers <> |
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>> RMS, How about making GPLv3 say that you can't use the GPLv3+ on your >> software if you are doing what KDE does? <> >As a practical matter, the GPL already says this, for most cases. It >says that linking the code with a proprietary library is forbidden, >except when that library accompanies a major component of the >operating system.
Examining the GNU GPL Version 2, I fail to see where it says that linking GPL'ed code with proprietary code is forbidden. Section 2, and in particular 2(b), specifically allows GPL'ed code to be linked with proprietary code so long as the resultant modified program is neither distributed nor published (assuming that the 2(a) and 2(c) constraints, regarding change notices and interactive announcements, are met).
The distinction between linking GPL'ed code with a proprietary library (which is commonly done and widely accepted) and distributing the resultant linked images is a critical one, both in (my layman's understanding of) USA Copyright law and practice as it applies to the area of computer programming, and in understanding the social context that has led to widespread revulsion against KDE-based programs.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this message is not an offer of legal advice.
Craig Milo Rogers
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