Date: Mon, 02 Dec 2002 14:09:25 -0800 From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> To: "Gary W. Swearingen" <swear@attbi.com> Cc: Darren Pilgrim <dmp@pantherdragon.org>, freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Is a port skeleton considered a derivative work under the GPL? Message-ID: <3DEBDA15.6EE31FB4@mindspring.com> References: <3DE9A680.4000702@pantherdragon.org> <3DE9B0CC.8A368E61@mindspring.com> <joadjo5j7q.djo@localhost.localdomain>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
"Gary W. Swearingen" wrote: > Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> writes: > > You are basically asking the question "What makes A a derivative > > work of B?". > > Basically, yes, but he's also asking, importantly, "how should I > interpret the GPL's fuzzy and confusing derivative escape clauses?". > > The prior replay concerning risk avoidance works well here too, except > when considering jurisdictions and locations of actions, remember the > case of the Central American leader who is sitting in a US jail. Enforcement of derivative works of Open Source code is a civil action, since the works from which they were derived is available and derivation is not prohibited. The issue is compliance with contract, not compliance with copyright. So there is no DMCA or Copyright issue here, and hence no involvement of the FBI in the investigation; it is very different than, for instance, the Skylarov trial (which starts today). The Manuel Noreiga imprisonment was predominantly over the drug trafficing through Panama, and a regime unfriendly to the U.S., after the lease on the canal was allowed to expire. His conviction was on charges of drug trafficing, racketeering, and money laundering. The issue of jurisdiction I raised was totally unrelated; my issue was the input to the standard "lawyer risk analysis equation" which would most effect the output: the existance or non-existance of binding case law. Case law is only binding on lower courts in the jurisdiction in which it was ajudicated (i.e. the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is not bound by the decisions of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals). Only if a decision is made by the U.S. Supreme Court, is the case law binding on all U.S. courts. -- Terry To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?3DEBDA15.6EE31FB4>