On 12 Aug 2003 at 16:26, Bernhard Reiter wrote:
If we do not defend our freedom it will slowly be taken away. As author of software you have the right to decide on its license. The Free Software community (which included much more than the FSF or the people of the GNU project) has been using copyleft for about 15 years now and it is a sensible and viable concept.
What do we think about IBM's first legal test of the GPL in their case against SCO?
My own opinion is given recent historical judgements by US courts with regard to similar issues, it does not bode well. The fact the GPL has the sweeping power it does it because it can be interpreted in so many ways ie; it's not been fixed.
And you can just bet that all those cash-strapped technology ventures being consolidated in silicon valley right now (many of whom are doing far less ethical things than SCO, but it's just not reported widely) will be watching for any loopholes which may be opened by this case.
Cheers, Niall