in reply to Re: Re: Using GPL'd Perl Modules in Commercial Software
in thread Using GPL'd Perl Modules in Commercial Software

The other nit, why are you worrying about having to supply a copy of the GPL? You can't inform a user of their rights without giving them the licence: this isn't GPL specific; the same applies with any other licence.

I don't think I fully understand what you're saying here. Surely you're not claiming that I shouldn't supply a copy of the license because if they do not know their rights, they can't use them?

No, I'm not saying that at all!! My point was, whenever you distribute software, you always need to tell people what rights they have, and distribute the licence with it. This isn't a problem of the GPL: the requirement of the GPL (and all other licences!) is that you inform the user of the agreement they're making before they use the software.

  • Comment on Re: Re: Re: Using GPL'd Perl Modules in Commercial Software

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Re: Re: Re: Re: Using GPL'd Perl Modules in Commercial Software
by cjf (Parson) on Feb 18, 2002 at 17:05 UTC
    Sorry about the misunderstanding :)

    You're quite correct about distributing the license. What I am wondering is how many people actually mention the GPL and what components it applies to in the software they are selling. Failure to do so would be a violation of the GPL, correct?

[reply]
      Correct. As section 1 of the GPL says:
      1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License along with the Program.
      If you do not do this then you are distributing software without the permission of the copyright owner and are in violation of the GPL.

      Or at least that is the intent. Whether that will work in practice is open to question. There is, of course, no case law on the GPL. However there does not seem to be much of a question about its enforcability - were there a significant loophole some corporation's legal eagles would have decided not to blink when confronted.

      For more on this Eben Moglen has written an essay on Enforcing the GNU GPL. It is worth the read.

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