From 5682a42c827d070ca4bddf262d15ed9ecad453b1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Bradley M. Kuhn" Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 23:01:46 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] * Wrote most of GPL Section 0 Section --- gpl-lgpl.tex | 95 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--- 1 file changed, 91 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/gpl-lgpl.tex b/gpl-lgpl.tex index 7552d13..63a1b3b 100644 --- a/gpl-lgpl.tex +++ b/gpl-lgpl.tex @@ -556,8 +556,10 @@ Like jazz, or novels, or architecture, the law gets built upon the work that went before. This adding and changing is what creativity always is. And a free society is one that assures that its most important resources remain free in just this sense.\footnote{This quotation is Copyright - \copyright{} 2002, Lawrence Lessig. Verbatim copying of this quotation - in its entirety is permitted provided this notice is preserved.} + \copyright{} 2002, Lawrence Lessig. It is licensed under the terms of + \href{http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/}{the ``Attribution + License'', version 1.0} or any later version as published by Creative + Commons.} \end{quotation} In essence, lawyers are paid to service the shared commons of legal @@ -574,12 +576,97 @@ economy. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \chapter{Copying, Modifying and Redistributing} +This chapter begins the deep discussion of the details of the terms of +GPL\@. In this chapter, we consider the core terms: GPL \S\S 0--3. These +are the sections of the GPL that fundamentally define the legal details of +how software freedom is respected. + +\section{GPL, \S 0: Freedom to Run} + +\S 0, the opening section of GPL, sets forth that the work is governed by +copyright law. It specifically points out that it is the ``copyright +holder'' who decides if a work is licensed under its terms, and explains +how the copyright holder might indicate this fact. + +A bit more subtly, \S 0 makes an inference that copyright law is the only +system under which it is governed. Specifically, it states: +\begin{quote} +Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not +covered by this License; they are outside its scope. +\end{quote} +In essence, the license governs \emph{only} those activites and all other +activities are unrestricted, provided that no other agreements trump GPL +(which they cannot; see Sections~\ref{GPLs6} and~\ref{GPLs7}). This is +very important, because the Free Software community heavily supports +users' rights to ``fair use'' and ``unregulated use'' of copyrighted +material. GPL asserts through this clause that it supports users' rights +to fair and unregulated uses. + +Fair use of copyrighted material is an established legal doctrine that +permits certain activities. Discussion of the various types of fair use +activity are beyond the scope of this tutorial. However, one important +example of fair use is the right to reverse engineering software. + +Fair use is a doctrine established by the courts or by statute. By +contrast, unregulated uses are those that are not covered by the statue +nor determined by a court to be covered, but are common and enjoyed by +many users. An example of unregulated use is reading a program like a +novel for the purpose of learning how to be a better programmer. + +\medskip + +Thus, the GPL protects users fair and uregulated use rights precisely by +not attempting to cover them. Furthermore, the GPL ensures the freedom +to run specifically by stating the following: +\begin{quote} +The act of running the Program is not restricted +\end{quote} +Thus, users are explicitly given the freedom to run by \S 0. + +\medskip + +The bulk of \S 0 not mentioned here gives definitions for other terms used +throughout. The only one worth discussing in detail is ``work based on +the Program''. The reason this definition is particular interesting is +that + + +\section{GPL, \S 1} + +\section{GPL, \S 2} + +\section{GPL, \S 3} + %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \chapter{Defending Freedom On Many Fronts} +\section{GPL, Section 4} + +\section{GPL, Section 5} +\label{GPLs5} + +\section{GPL, Section 6} +\label{GPLs6} + +\section{GPL, Section 7} +\label{GPLs7} + %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \chapter{Odds, Ends, and Absolutely No Warranty} +There was a case where the disclaimer of a contract was negated because it +was not "conspicuous" to the person entering into the contract. Therefore, +to make such language "conspicuous" people started bolding it. My question +has always been, does that mean all the other parts of the document aren't +important such that they too need to be "conspicuous." + +As for disclaiming warranties, remember that there are many types of +warranties, and in some jurisdictions some of them cannot be disclaimed. +Therefore, usually agreements will have both a warranty disclaimer and a +limitation of liability. The former gets rid of everything that can be +gotten rid of, while the latter limits the liability of the actor for any +warranties that cannot be disclaimed (such as personal injury, etc.). + %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \chapter{Business Models, Internal Use, and Compliance} @@ -667,7 +754,7 @@ modification follow. \addtocounter{enumi}{-1} -\item +\item This License applies to any program or other work which contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed under the @@ -705,7 +792,7 @@ above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions: \begin{enumerate} -\item +\item You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.