[PLUG] The Beginning of the End

Kevin Theobald kevintheobald at vzavenue.net
Thu Sep 4 00:23:02 UTC 2003


> This would explain why SCO is so eager to challenge the GPL (it doesn't
> want to have to release the source code for Unixware)

This seems to be a perennial fantasy among OSS fans: that some GPL'ed
code is discovered in someone's code (oh, let it be Microsoft, please!),
and they are thus forced to open-source ALL of their code.

But all the GPL says is what the conditions for COMPLIANCE are.  So if,
say, MS were discovered with GPL code in Windows, the GPL would
effectively say: IF you want to keep this in Windows, THEN you must
release the rest of Windows (or at least the connected part) under the
GPL.

If it ever came to a courtroom, a sympathetic judge might rule that they
are out of compliance with the GPL.  But that wouldn't automatically
lead to a ruling to GPL everything else.  Most likely, the judge would
simply rule that they had to remove the GPL code.  If we were lucky, the
judge might award monetary damages. especially if it could be shown that
it was a deliberate violation, as opposed to, say, Sun getting it from
SCO.

Kevin





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