Messages in this thread |  | | From | (Andrew Pimlott) | | Date | Thu, 21 Jun 2001 16:46:25 -0400 | | Subject | Re: Controversy over dynamic linking -- how to end the panic |
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On Thu, Jun 21, 2001 at 04:13:22PM -0400, Eric S. Raymond wrote: > Andrew Pimlott <andrew@pimlott.ne.mediaone.net>: > > On Thu, Jun 21, 2001 at 03:17:16PM -0400, Eric S. Raymond wrote: > > > IANAL, but I believe that Linus's position as anthology copyright holder > > > makes him privileged in this respect. > > > > Regardless of what you find in the books, recall that Linus has > > stated that decentralizing the copyright of Linux was a goal, so you > > may not find him willing to claim an "anthology copyright" (if such > > a thing even applies to the kernel, which in my NAL opinion, it does > > not). > > Linus *is*, however, implicitly claiming the authority to make license > policy on behalf of the other copyright holders in cases where the GPL > is unclear. > > In COPYING, Linus says that that the version of GPL applying to the > kernel is v2 unless explicitly otherwise stated. He has also already > issued the interpretation that normal system calls from userland do > not create a derivation relationship. > > I consider Linus to have the moral right to make these decisions, whether > or not the law gives him a formal legal right to do so. All I have done > is propose that he be more explicit about his policy in order to prevent > needless confusion and nervousness.
I agree entirely that Linus, as creator of the license, is privileged with respect to interpretation of the license. I disagree however with your suggestion that he is privileged with respect to the copyright (eg the ability to sue or relicense), especially since his own words (cited earlier) read like a disclaimer of such privilege.
I basically support your position.
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