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GPL's Strength

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the the-strength-of-the-gpl dept.

Morty writes "So, why hasn't the GPL been successfully challenged yet? In this article, Eben Moglen, General Counsel to the FSF, explains that the GPL is in a stronger legal position than most licenses. Most licenses restrict the user from doing what would otherwise be legal. Because the GPL (and presumably, other free/open software licenses) let the user do things that are otherwise illegal (copy and redistribute software), the GPL is in a stronger position to dictate terms. If the user doesn't accept the terms of the GPL, the default is for copying and redistribution to be forbidden under copyright law. I had never looked at it that way before. . ."

4 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Surely by megalomaniacs4u · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Unless there are local laws or you parked on private property thats nice and legal.

    Otherwise that is theft.

  2. "News" for Nerds by sydneyfong · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    August....?

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  3. Re:The (Unsuccessful) Slashdot Blackout by glwtta · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    hmm, yes, 50 + 1 + 1 - 1 - 1 = 48.

    what's that? off-topic yet again? blow me, topic gendarmes.

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  4. Re:Saw something similar about EULAs in general by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I am issuing a goatsex warning on the parent post. The "Brown Eye Journal" link takes you to a very unsavory image of a "brown eye."

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