[PLUG] The lion in Salem

[Jeme A Brelin]

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003, Paul Johnson wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 26, 2003 at 12:22:48PM -0700, Cliff Wells wrote:
> > >  The bureaucratic paperwork involved in installing
> > > one simple piece of software on a State computer is... uh,
> > > interesting.
> >
> > Which make unlicensed copies (which don't require paperwork) all the
> > more appealing ;)
>
> I don't see too much public domain software out there.  Just because the
> GPL allows free redistribution doesn't mean it's not licensed.

The GPL is not a license to USE software, however.  You are not required
to have a license to USE anything that you have purchased.  You don't need
a license to read a book you've bought or give it to somebody else, loan
it out, xerox it at 300% to read from across the room, or sell it when
you're finished.  None of those things are exclusive rights to a copyright
holder and therefore none of them require a license from the copyright
holder to exercise.

However, distribution of copies IS an exclusive right of the copyright
holder and that right must be confered to you via license in order for you
to exercise it.

The GPL is a distribution license.  You don't need to agree to the GPL to
USE GPL software, only to redistribute it.

J.
-- 
   -----------------
     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
   -----------------
 [cc] counter-copyright
 http://www.openlaw.org