Ah, Ben, you didn't meditate.

Post #219,325 by ubernostrum 8/15/05 4:05:40 AM Reply	Ah, Ben, you didn't meditate. Again, I ask you: when Section 6 says "these terms and conditions", to which terms and conditions is it referring? I don't honestly see how it could be referring to any terms and conditions besides those of version 2 of the GPL. Now re-think your answer in light of this information, and have your lawyers friends do the same. \r\n\r\n And if you could point me to a publicly archived mailing list where this has been asked, and answered by a licensed attorney who practices in the field of copyright law (even better if they routinely work with GPL issues), then I just might be more inclined to believe you. \r\n\r\n And as for the "don't you think they'd have come up with it already" argument, I do wonder whether anyone ever sat down and thought out what would happen if a future version of the GPL wasn't compatible with previous versions; as I read it (and, dear Ben, I used to literally do IP research for a living, as that was what got me my grant money in school, so I'd like to think I can read a license and get the salient points), the GPL is rather optimistically written with the assumption that future versions will remain compatible. --\r\nYou cooin' with my bird? \r\n[link\|http://www.shtuff.us/\|shtuff]
Post #219,362 by ben_tilly 8/15/05 12:47:40 PM Reply	I don't know of anywhere that this has been asked Which only goes to say that I don't know of anyone who has chosen to misunderstand things in the way that you have chosen to misunderstand them. But I pointed you at a list where you can ask, and you are likely to be answered by multiple lawyers who are deeply involved in free software. (And therefore should be expected to understand the GPL v2 pretty well.) To answer your specific question, the phrase these terms and conditions in the GPL v2 do indeed refer to the GPL v2. Section 6 therefore says that if you follow the GPL v2, then anyone who receives the Program from you automatically receives a GPL v2 license for the Program, and you may not restrict their free use of the permissions that the GPL v2 provides them. Which, if your modified version is offered under the GPL v2, you haven't. This says nothing about what other licenses may or may not be available to the recipient under what terms. Just that the GPL v2 must be available, and you must not impose any restrictions on their freedom to use the permissions granted by the GPL v2. As for whether anyone has thought about this topic, when the GPL v2 was drawn up, certainly people thought about the issue of how to migrate from version to version. After all license migration was at the time an interesting topic, considering that they were trying to figure out how to migrate from the original GPL to the GPL v2. That's why the GPL v2 has instructions for people to follow which were meant to smooth the way to the GPL v3 when that came around. Cheers, Ben I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
Post #219,401 by drewk 8/15/05 3:52:31 PM Reply	Future versions don't have to remain compatible ... the GPL is rather optimistically written with the assumption that future versions will remain compatible. No it's not. If you assume every future version will remain compatible with the current version, you have no reason to specify "or any later version". If, on the other hand, you assume that future versions will be incompatible, then you can offer in your license terms the option to release under any future version of the GPL. And anyone redistributing it can choose which of those -- v2 or any later version -- to attach. Hell, if you wanted to be perverse, you could take a "GPL v2 or any later" program, modify it, and attach a license specifying "GPL v7 only". Now that would effectively take your fork proprietary. Cool, huh? === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]

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