180 lines
8.4 KiB
Text
180 lines
8.4 KiB
Text
Detailed Study and Analysis of GPL and LGPL
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This one-day course gives a section-by-section explanation of the most
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popular Free Software copyright license, the GNU General Public License
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(GNU GPL), and teaches lawyers, software developers, managers and business
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people how to use the GPL (and GPL'ed software) successfully in a new Free
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Software business and in existing, successful enterprises.
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Prerequisites:
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Attendees should have a general familiarity with software development
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processes. A basic understanding of how copyright law typically
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applies to software is also helpful.
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Audience:
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The course is of most interest to lawyers, software developers and
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managers who run (or have clients who run) software businesses that
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modify and/or redistribute software under terms of the GNU GPL or
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LGPL, or who wish to make use of existing GPL'd and LGPL'd software
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in their enterprise.
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The course will include the topics listed below, along with ample time for
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questions and discussions. Lunch is included, with a lunch speaker to be
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announced.
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* Free Software Principles and the Free Software Definition
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The ethical principles that motivated the creation of these licenses
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are presented. Unlike licenses that seek to lock up software in a
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proprietary fashion, the GPL and LGPL are designed to grant freedom to
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innovate, learn and improve. Those principles influence licensing
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policy decisions. We present the specific definition of the concept
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of "Free Software" (software whose license grants freedoms to copy,
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share, modify and redistribute the software either gratis or for a
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fee) for-profit companies.
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* Preamble of the GNU General Public License (GPL)
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The preamble presents the intent of the license. The preamble puts
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forth the motivations for the detailed terms and conditions that
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follow in the license. We discuss the language of the preamble in
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detail to show how it frames the legal details that follow.
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* GPL, Section 0: Definitions, etc.
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GPL's section 0 defines and presents the terms that make the basis of
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this copyright license. We discuss those definitions and the
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copyright scope of the license.
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* GPL, Section 1: Grant for Verbatim Source Copying
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Section 1 defines the terms for making source-only copies of software
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programs. We discuss how those rules work and the requirements and
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obligations for distributors of GPL'd source, whether they choose to
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distribute at no charge or for fees.
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* Derivative Works: Statute and Case Law
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Free Software licensing in general, and the GPL and LGPL in
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particular, relies critically on the concept of derivative work since
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software that is independent (i.e., not derivative) of Free Software
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need not abide by any of the terms of the applicable Free Software
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license. If a work is a derivative work of Free Software, then the
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terms of the license are triggered, and one has obligations to comply
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with the terms of the Free Software license under which the original
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work is distributed. Therefore, one is left to ask, just what is a
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"derivative work?" We will show how the answer to that question
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depends on which court is being asked. We also present the best
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background information available to build a working understanding of
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what is generally considered a derivate work in the rapidly changing
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field of software copyright law.
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* GPL, Section 2: Grants for Source Derivative Works
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Section 2 sets forth the rules for creation of derivative works of
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GPL'd software. We discuss the intent of this section of GPL and how
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it relates to the copyright situation discussed in our discussion of
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derivative works. We also explain the details of preparing derivative
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source in a GPL-compliant way.
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* GPL, Section 3: Grants for Creating Binary Derivative Works
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Source-only distribution works well for technically savvy clients and
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users, but most want runnable binary programs as well. Section 3
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gives permission for the creation and distribution of such binary
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works. We explain how GPL's requirement for corresponding source code
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operate, and detail what distribution options are available to
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distributors of binary GPL'd software. We explore the benefits and
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downsides of each of those options.
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* The Implied Patent Grant in GPL
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Patent rights are most often granted expressly, through detailed
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language in a license. However, express patent grants are not the
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exclusive way rights in patents are granted by patentees. Even
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without express language, patent rights can be granted by a patentee's
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actions or behavior. The GPL contains no express patent grant. Does
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that mean it grants less rights in the licensor's patents than other
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licenses which do? Or, does the GPL, in its silence, actually result
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in a grant of patent rights to the licensee greater than occurs
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through many other Free Software and "Open Source" licenses?
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We will consider these questions and provide detailed answers to them.
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* GPL, Section 4: Termination of License
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Section 4 terminates rights under GPL for those who violate it. We
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discuss how such termination works, what it means for violators, what
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risks one takes in violating, and how rights are typically restored.
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We briefly mention how Section 4 is used as the central tool in GPL
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enforcement.
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* GPL, Section 5: Acceptance of License
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GPL is not a contract, so acceptance of the license works differently
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than it does for contracts. We discuss how this acceptance works
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under the copyright rules that govern GPL.
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* GPL, Section 6: Prohibition on Further Restrictions
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Other licensing terms cannot be placed on GPL'd software that would
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trump the rights granted under GPL. We discuss how Section 6 is used
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to ensure that no such additional restrictions occur. We briefly
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discuss how this leads to the concept of GPL-incompatible Free
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Software licenses.
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* GPL, Section 7: Conflicts with other Agreements or Orders
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Just as additional licensing restrictions cannot trump GPL, outside
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agreements, patent licenses or court orders cannot do so either. We
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discuss how Section 7 ensures that other rules outside of the direct
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software license cannot take rights away from users, distributors, and
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modifiers of GPL'd software.
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* GPL, Section 8: International Licensing Issues
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Section 8 is rarely used part of the GPL that helps copyright holders
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when certain technologies are prohibited from full international
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distribution due to draconian rules elsewhere in the world. We
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explain how Section 8 helps such copyright holders.
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* GPL, Section 9: FSF as GPL's Stewards
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We discuss how the update process and release of new GPL versions
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happens.
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* GPL, Section 10: Copyright Holder's Exceptions to GPL
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Section 10 reminds licensees that under copyright law, other
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relicensing arrangements can be made. We discuss how this can often
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be used as a business model and we explicate that model's benefits and
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downsides.
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* GPL, Section 11: Disclaimer of Warranties
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GPL, Section 12: Limitation of Liability
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Almost all software licenses, including Free Software licenses such as
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the GPL, contain sections, typically in all caps, regarding warranties
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and liability. The purposes of these sections are lost on most
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non-lawyers, but attorneys understand the importance their language
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provides to both the licensor and the licensee. Some have argued that
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the GPL's Sections 11 and 12 render it entirely unenforceable. We
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consider whether that is true, and present the likely interpretation
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and implementation of the GPL's Warranty Disclaimer and Liability
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Limitation provisions.
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* Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
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The LGPL is a "scaled back" version of GPL, designed specifically to
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allow creation of a very well-defined class of proprietary derivative
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works. However, it does prohibit turning the LGPL'd software itself
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directly into proprietary software.
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We discuss the basic design of LGPL and how it compares and contrasts
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with GPL. We introduce the two classes of derivative works covered
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by LGPL -- "works that use the library" and "works based on the
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library" -- and give some concrete examples of what proprietary
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derivative works are prohibited and permitted when basing the
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software on an LGPL'd work.
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