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Re: GPL v2 authoritative answer on stored code as a derived work

From
Philip Oakley <philipoakley@iee.org>
Date
Jan 31, 2016, 20:19 UTC
Message-ID
<048D782021FA455EBF38AD0C1E3C39BC@PhilipOakley>
In-Reply-To
<alpine.DEB.2.20.1601280913450.2964@virtualbox>
From: "Johannes Schindelin" <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de>
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2016 8:16 AM
Show 24 quoted lines
> Hi Philip,
>
> On Wed, 27 Jan 2016, Philip Oakley wrote:
>
>> From: "Junio C Hamano" <gitster@pobox.com>
>> > Jonathan Smith <Jonathan.Smith@fphcare.co.nz> writes:
>> >
>> > > It's pretty clear that code stored in a Git repository isn't
>> > > considered a derived work of Git, regardless of whether it is used
>> > > in a commercial context or otherwise.
>>
>> I'm guessing here, but I suspect that while its 'pretty clear' to 
>> Jonathan,
>> that he has met others who aren't so clear or trusting, and it's that
>> distrustful community that would need convincing.
>
> It is not so much distrust as something you could take to court, I guess,
> because an *authoritative* answer was asked for. Now, the question is a
> legal one, so it is pretty clear (;-)) to me that only a lawyer could give
> that answer.
>
> Having said that, I know of plenty of companies storing their proprietary
> code in Git repositories, and I would guess that they cleared that with
> their lawyers first.

I've had a look though the various FAQs and other discussions about the GPL and the FUD associated with it.

I've put together an outline of a patch to the git(1) man page, with commit message to explain the issues (the lawyers need pointing in the right direction so they can think clearly, rather than give the usual 'No' answer ;-)

Having it in $gmane at least captures the rationale, even if the patch goes nowhere.

Show 12 quoted lines
>
> Jonathan, please do not take that as any indication that I try to give
> this answer: if you want an authoritative answer to your question, you
> really need to consider asking a lawyer.
>
> Ciao,
> Dscho
> --
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Previous: Johannes SchindelinNext: Philip Oakley
Message 5 of 15 in “GPL v2 authoritative answer on stored code as a derived work”
  1. Jonathan SmithJan 25, 2016
  2. Junio C HamanoJan 25, 2016
  3. Philip OakleyJan 27, 2016
  4. Johannes SchindelinJan 28, 2016
  5. Philip OakleyJan 31, 2016
  6. Git doc: GPL2 does not apply to repo dataPhilip Oakley, Jan 31, 2016
  7. Junio C HamanoJan 31, 2016
  8. Jonathan SmithJan 31, 2016
  9. Johannes SchindelinFeb 1, 2016
  10. Matthieu MoyFeb 1, 2016
  11. Jeff KingFeb 1, 2016
  12. Jeff KingFeb 1, 2016
  13. Philip OakleyFeb 1, 2016
  14. Philip OakleyFeb 1, 2016
  15. Philip OakleyFeb 1, 2016

Read the whole thread, see it on lore, or plain text.

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