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List:       kde-licensing
Subject:    Re: GPL compatibility of data licensing?
From:       Kevin Forge <forge () myrealbox ! com>
Date:       2003-08-19 7:13:22
[Download RAW message or body]

 Perhaps GNU.org has a place to ask, but since kde-licensing@ is so 
quiet these days ...

1st there is the matter of where dose software end and data begin.  
Basically the GPL covers software, not the data created or manipulated 
with that software.  I.e. It is acceptable for a studio to use a GPLed 
program running on a GPLed OS to create a movie, or some music which is 
then licensed under the most draconian terms imaginable.

It is also OK for you to use your GPLed Email program to download a 
proprietary and copyrighted document attached to an Email and then read 
it in your GPLed word processor.

All the statement you read has done is define online help as a document 
rather than a part of the program.  This makes sense to me but perhaps 
others have another opinion.

As for the Modified KDE.  You might get a cease and desist from Apple. :).
Seriously.  I am not sure where icons and themes fall on the scale from 
software to document.  Someone else has to answer that part.


Steve Langasek wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>Apologies if this is the wrong mailing list for this sort of question;
>if there's a better place for me to make this inquiry, feel free to
>bounce me in that direction.
>
>At <http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2003/debian-legal-200305/msg00582.html>,
>Richard Stallman makes the assertion that it is not against the terms of
>the GNU GPL to pull data that's licensed in a manner incompatible with
>the GPL into a GPL'ed program for displaying to the user as on-line
>help.  To me, this is a surprising claim; and it's also one that has far
>reaching consequences -- if incompatibly-licensed online help can be
>pulled into the program without violating the license on the GPLed
>program, can the same not also be done with other forms of data, such as
>graphics and sound files?
>
>What is the opinion of the KDE developers on this apparent ambiguity in
>the license?  Would third-party distribution of GPLed KDE apps together
>with, e.g., themes, icons, or fonts licensed under the Apple Public
>Source License be considered acceptable, or would it lead to
>cease-and-desist letters?  Are you aware of anyone distributing such a
>KDE-based combination today?
>
>Regards,
>  
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>Kde-licensing@kde.org
>http://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-licensing
>  
>

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