2011/3/8 Mahyuddin Susanto <udi...@ubuntu.com>: >> Parsing the output of a program doesn’t make a derivative work. However, >> if this parsing is vital for the operation of the application and makes >> it useless without that program, what is the difference with dynamic >> linking to a library? To a programmer, there might be one, but to a >> court, there wouldn’t be any. >> > > Thanks for CCing to debian-legal > anyway, i'm really confused for this packages, but i'm open for input > for a best solutions
In general, I wouldn't consider parsing the output of another program to de a derivative work. According to the GPL FAQ [1]: "Where's the line between two separate programs, and one program with two parts? This is a legal question, which ultimately judges will decide. We believe that a proper criterion depends both on the mechanism of communication (exec, pipes, rpc, function calls within a shared address space, etc.) and the semantics of the communication (what kinds of information are interchanged). If the modules are included in the same executable file, they are definitely combined in one program. If modules are designed to run linked together in a shared address space, that almost surely means combining them into one program. By contrast, pipes, sockets and command-line arguments are communication mechanisms normally used between two separate programs. So when they are used for communication, the modules normally are separate programs. But if the semantics of the communication are intimate enough, exchanging complex internal data structures, that too could be a basis to consider the two parts as combined into a larger program. " [1] http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation Greetings, Miry -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/AANLkTik7=pd+jz77tutb1knxfgfiwc-4gb89vjcod...@mail.gmail.com