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List:       kde-licensing
Subject:    Re: [rms@gnu.org: Re: can normal programs be LGPL'ed?]
From:       Roberto Alsina <ralsina () unl ! edu ! ar>
Date:       1998-12-07 12:28:16
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On Sat, 5 Dec 1998, Raul Miller wrote:

> Arnt Gulbrandsen <agulbra@troll.no> wrote:
> > To name one hypothetical example, I think that if a program is written
> > at an IBM office in Italy for the exlusive use of IBM worldwide and
> > is never distributed outside IBM, that program is proprietary. I also
> > think that any definition of "proprietary software" which does not
> > include cases like this has a serious problem.
> 
> It's not clear that copyright law addresses this very adequately, for
> free software.
> 
> The problem is that once you have a legal copy of a piece of software
> you're allowed to use it however you like.  Copyright restricts the
> ability of someone to make new copies, it's patents that restrict use.

Uh.... I don't think all of IBM worldwide is going to use a single copy, 
Raul...

> 
> Now, you can work around this by requiring that a contract that limits
> how the software is used.  But you can't force someone to enter into
> a before they get a copy of some free software -- if you could, it
> wouldn't be free software.
> 
> It's also pretty hard to force everyone to distribute free software,
> again because that requirement would mean that people aren't free
> to just use it.
> 
> So, yeah, I see what you're worried about, but I think it's something
> that has to be dealt with by other means.
> 
> -- 
> Raul
> 
> 

 ("\''/").__..-''"`-. .         Roberto Alsina
 `9_ 9  )   `-. (    ).`-._.`)  ralsina@unl.edu.ar
 (_Y_.)' ._   ) `._`.  " -.-'   Centro de Telematica
  _..`-'_..-_/ /-'_.'           Universidad Nacional del Litoral
(l)-'' ((i).' ((!.'             Santa Fe - Argentina
                                KDE Developer (MFCH)
Life isn't short. It's just that death is longer.

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