SCO attacks open-source foundation

TalkBack 11 of 85:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

More misconceptions

I hear this argument around source-code distribution a lot, and it almost always includes a very important hidden assumption:

That you re-use pre-existing code.

If the code you write "for a GPL'd application" does not use any GPL code, then you do not have to redistribute it.

So if you code to APIs or other standard interfaces, without actually incorporating code, you don't have to redistribute anything, and you have reaped one of the major benefits of the GPL with no discernable downside, whatsoever. If I understand the copyright terminology correctly, the argument would be that when coding to standard interfaces but not appropriating code, you're not creating a derivative work.

Now, there's another important point that's been forgotten frequently in these discussions: That it's SCO's position that anything that is "created for an environment" is a "derivative work". In effect, that blows up the entire concept of intellectual property.

That doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater -- it blows the baby up with a thermonuclear device. Because it establishes that in practical terms there's no such thing as "non-derivative works". So such an argument, while it might win favor from some ideologically-driven lower court judge, has a snowball's chance in hell at the higher levels.

Posted by: escoles@...   Posted on: 10/29/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
• VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the costs of maintain ever larger data centers?or building ... Download Now
• Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software VMware VMware virtualization enables customers to reduce their server TCO and ... Download Now