Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread James Carlson
Drazen Kacar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> >  Nonsense.  It protects both Sun and the contributor from being dragged
> >  to arbitrary third locations to defend themselves.
> 
> Dragged by whom? USA is as arbitrary third location from my point of
> view. The whole USA, not just California. And I certainly don't want to
> be dragged in any USA court. I have nothing against them, but, you know,
> there are people who just don't live in the USA.

No kidding.  Snide remarks aside, I think you're still
misunderstanding, and I can't tell why that might be.

I said "third location" because I meant it.  Here's a better
description of the problem than I can muster, and from an actual
lawyer (no less):

  http://blogs.sun.com/webmink/entry/choice_of_venue

> >  But, again, if you don't understand the language there (legalese is
> >  indeed dense stuff), you're best off getting good counsel.
> 
> In which country?

Yours.  Or the ones in which you do business.

-- 
James Carlson, KISS Network<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive 71.232W   Vox +1 781 442 2084
MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757   42.496N   Fax +1 781 442 1677
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Re: Linux: GPLv3, DRM, and Exceptions

2006-10-20 Thread Rui Miguel Silva Seabra
Sáb, 2006-10-21 às 00:05 +0200, Alexander Terekhov escreveu:
> Ciaran O'Riordan wrote:
> [...]
> > If the content of the essay left even you with nothing to complain about, I
> > must have hit the mark.
> 
> He he. Chalk that down as whatever, moron. "Complain about" is/was right
> below your moronic drivel available at the posted link. Yeah, of course,
> "reply didn't merit a response", right? Uh moron.

3 instances of moron later... doesn't the sun shine where you live at?
I'm trully wondering if you'd turn into stone and stop wasting our time.

PS: Ciaran, don't feed it.


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Re: Linux: GPLv3, DRM, and Exceptions

2006-10-20 Thread Alexander Terekhov
Ciaran O'Riordan wrote:
[...]
> If the content of the essay left even you with nothing to complain about, I
> must have hit the mark.

He he. Chalk that down as whatever, moron. "Complain about" is/was right
below your moronic drivel available at the posted link. Yeah, of course,
"reply didn't merit a response", right? Uh moron.

regards,
alexander.
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Re: PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread John Hasler
I wrote:
> Pretty much, but you must provide your software in a form that can be
> relinked.

Karen Hill writes:
> What does that mean?

What it says: read the LGPL.  If you are dynamically linking you need do
nothing special as you are already providing your code in linkable form.
You also need not provide source for the library unless you are
distributing it in binary form with your package.  If you link statically,
though, you must include object files so that the user can relink your code
to a different version of the library if she wishes.

> In .NET...

I don't know anything about that.


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Re: Linux: GPLv3, DRM, and Exceptions

2006-10-20 Thread Ciaran O'Riordan

Alexander Terekhov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Hey FSFE retard, it's malfunction in your brain, not Tivo-like devices.

Wow.  I'll chalk that down as a win.

If the content of the essay left even you with nothing to complain about, I
must have hit the mark.


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Re: PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread Karen Hill

John Hasler wrote:

> > Npgsql is LGPL.  It means you must release the source of Npgsql when
> > distributing it, and if you modify Npgsql, but not have to release the
> > source under the (L)GPL of the software that calls Npgsql functions?
>
> Pretty much, but you must provide your software in a form that can be
> relinked.
>

What does that mean?  In .NET, you add a reference to the Npgsql dll,
and then add "Using Npgsql;" to the top of the class you want to use
Npgsql in.  So if you wrote something like this it would have to go
under the LGPL?:

Using Npgsql;
namespace foo{
class foobar
{
  foobar()
{
   String connectionString = "";
   NpgsqlConnection conn = new NpgsqlConnection(connectionString);
}

}

}

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Re: PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread John Hasler
Karen Hill writes:
> If you make create a PostgreSQL database that uses PostGIS and you
> distribute that database, than your database (tables, stored procedures,
> views, etc) are GPL?

No.

> Like wise if you create a client that connects to that database, do they
> also become GPL?

No.

> Does PostgreSQL in effect become GPL when using PostGIS because PostGIS
> accesses parts of PostgreSQL?

No.

> Npgsql is LGPL.  It means you must release the source of Npgsql when
> distributing it, and if you modify Npgsql, but not have to release the
> source under the (L)GPL of the software that calls Npgsql functions?

Pretty much, but you must provide your software in a form that can be
relinked.

> If you provide the source on a CD and the (GPL/LGPL) license as a text
> file on that CD if you distribute, then are your obligations met under
> the GPL/LGPL?

Yes.

> What if those you distribute to lose the source code CD, can they then
> come after you X number of years later demanding the source?

No.

> For the developers of LGPL/GPL like Npgsql, why do you not dual license?
> Have a model like MySQL where one can purchase a BSD licensed version or
> use the GPL/LGPL one.

Some don't want their software distributed under closed-source terms.
Others just haven't been offered enough money.
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Re: PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread Alexander Terekhov

Merijn de Weerd wrote:
[...]
> If you distribute the PostgreSQL server software linked with
> the PostGIS software, then you have to comply with the GPL
> for both parts of that derivative work.
> 
> If you don't distribute any server software, you do not have
> to worry about what the GPL requires.

Yeah. A+B is GNU derivative. Go to doctor, schizophrenic de Weerd. 

regards,
alexander.
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Re: PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread Merijn de Weerd
On 2006-10-20, Karen Hill <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> If you make create a PostgreSQL database that uses PostGIS and you
> distribute that database, than your database (tables, stored
> procedures, views, etc) are GPL?  

No, because those tables, stored procedures etc. are not
derivative works of the PostGIS code. 

> Like wise if you create a client that
> connects to that database, do they also become GPL?  Does PostgreSQL in
> effect become GPL when using PostGIS because PostGIS accesses parts of
> PostgreSQL?

You have to distinguish the server software from what you store
in the database. Your data does not "become GPL" because it's stored
in a database managed by a GPL-licensed server. 

If you distribute the PostgreSQL server software linked with
the PostGIS software, then you have to comply with the GPL
for both parts of that derivative work.

If you don't distribute any server software, you do not have
to worry about what the GPL requires.

The MySQL people claim that connecting to their database server
means your client has to be made GPL, but they're pretty much
the only ones saying that.

> Npgsql is LGPL.  It means you must release the source of Npgsql when
> distributing it, and if you modify Npgsql, but not have to release the
> source under the (L)GPL of the software that calls Npgsql functions?

Yes.

> If you provide the source on a CD and the (GPL/LGPL) license as a text
> file on that CD if you distribute, then are your obligations met under
> the GPL/LGPL?

Yes.

>  What if those you distribute to lose the source code CD,
> can they then come after you X number of years later demanding the
> source?

No. They got the source, they were careless, that's too bad
for them. If and only if you told them "instead of giving you
the source right now, you (and anyone who wants) can write to 
me any time in the next three years and I'll give the source
to whoever writes to me", then people can demand the source.

> For the developers of LGPL/GPL like Npgsql, why do you not dual
> license?  Have a model like MySQL where one can purchase a BSD licensed
> version or use the GPL/LGPL one.

Dual licensing is basically trading on ignorance of what
the GPL requires and how to work with that. It's not a viable
long-term business model. 

And besides, it's much harder to get contributions from third
party if you want to hold that amount of control over the source.

Merijn

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PostgreSQL, LGPL and GPL.

2006-10-20 Thread Karen Hill
I was looking through the various contrib packages and pgfoundry
projects.  I noticed that many of them are GPL like PostGIS or LGPL
like Npgsql.   I have questions.

If you make create a PostgreSQL database that uses PostGIS and you
distribute that database, than your database (tables, stored
procedures, views, etc) are GPL?  Like wise if you create a client that
connects to that database, do they also become GPL?  Does PostgreSQL in
effect become GPL when using PostGIS because PostGIS accesses parts of
PostgreSQL?

Npgsql is LGPL.  It means you must release the source of Npgsql when
distributing it, and if you modify Npgsql, but not have to release the
source under the (L)GPL of the software that calls Npgsql functions?

If you provide the source on a CD and the (GPL/LGPL) license as a text
file on that CD if you distribute, then are your obligations met under
the GPL/LGPL?  What if those you distribute to lose the source code CD,
can they then come after you X number of years later demanding the
source?

For the developers of LGPL/GPL like Npgsql, why do you not dual
license?  Have a model like MySQL where one can purchase a BSD licensed
version or use the GPL/LGPL one.


regards,
Karen

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Re: Linux: GPLv3, DRM, and Exceptions

2006-10-20 Thread Alexander Terekhov

Ciaran O'Riordan wrote:
> 
> Devices Rigged to Malfunction

Hey FSFE retard, it's malfunction in your brain, not Tivo-like devices.

regards,
alexander.
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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Merijn de Weerd
On 2006-10-20, James Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Merijn de Weerd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>> Basically, this says "if Sun ever forgets to credit you,
>> or performs something you consider a mutilation of your
>> work, you won't sue Sun".
>
> That's basically true.  If such a thing weren't there, then other
> contributors (including both people inside Sun and those outside)
> would be unable to fix any bugs in the code you contribute.

Of course anyone is free to fix bugs in code submissions.
The only thing other people can't do is *mutilate* the code.
This is a very high standard that's not easy to meet.

Merijn

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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread John Hasler
Drazen Kacar writes:
> USA is as arbitrary third location from my point of view. The whole USA,
> not just California. And I certainly don't want to be dragged in any USA
> court.

"Governed by California law" does not mean "governed by California courts".
It just means that whatever court is interpreting the license should apply
California law.  Some courts may, of course, choose not to do so, but US
Federal courts will.  So will ICC arbitration panels, I believe.
-- 
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Drazen Kacar
Alexander Terekhov wrote:
> 
>  Drazen Kacar wrote:
>  [...]
> > Irish copyright law gives such moral rights to individuals, the said 
> > rights are not transferable and there's no way to give them up, as 
> > far as Irish law is concerned.
> 
>  http://www.icla.ie/index.php?information
> 
>  "Moral rights may be waived, but a waiver must be in writing."

I misremembered. I tried to think of the copyright law which is
available in English, so the interested parties could check, but I
didn't check myself. I appologize for the confusion.

>  Ireland aside for a moment, see also 
> 
>  http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/ilj/rigamonti.pdf

Interesting document. Thaks for pointing that out.

>  If there is a general set of rules that has emerged from the case law in
>  France and Germany, it is
>   (i) that authors cannot legally relinquish or abandon the rights of
>   attribution and integrity altogether,
>  (ii) that advance blanket waivers are unenforceable, and
> (iii) that narrowly tailored waivers that involve reasonably
>   foreseeable encroachments on the author's moral rights are
>   generally valid.

I don't know what is "narrowly tailored waiver" supposed to look like.
But I suppose that's from the court practice, not from the copyright
law.

And yes, copyright laws in Europe vary in details, even when the general
principles are the same. They are also updated from time to time.

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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Alexander Terekhov

Drazen Kacar wrote:
[...]
> Sigh. I asked a lawyer about certain things once, when I needed legal
> advice. Two American lawyers, in fact. And they both said, among other
> things, "Never give jurisdiction away". And then went on to explain the
> reasons.

But choice of law is not jurisdiction. Google Rome convention.

regards,
alexander.
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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Alexander Terekhov

Drazen Kacar wrote:
[...]
> Irish copyright law gives such moral rights to individuals, the said 
> rights are not transferable and there's no way to give them up, as 
> far as Irish law is concerned.

http://www.icla.ie/index.php?information

"Moral rights may be waived, but a waiver must be in writing."

Ireland aside for a moment, see also 

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/ilj/rigamonti.pdf

--
If there is a general set of rules that has emerged from the case law in
France and Germany, it is (i) that authors cannot legally relinquish or 
abandon the rights of attribution and integrity altogether, (ii) that 
advance blanket waivers are unenforceable, and (iii) that narrowly 
tailored waivers that involve reasonably foreseeable encroachments on 
the author’s moral rights are generally valid.139 In the context of the 
right of integrity, this essentially means that courts are inclined to 
side with the author if the other party to the contract distorts140 the 
work then attempts to invoke a generic waiver provision in its defense.141 

Conversely, the courts tend to rule against authors if the authors 
approve specific modifications either before or after the fact and then 
try to rely on their inalienable moral rights to reverse their previous 
decision to the detriment of the other party to the contract.142 Regarding 
the right of attribution, the common denominator is that authors always 
preserve their right to disclose the fact of their authorship, even if they 
previously agreed to publish their work anonymously or under a pseudonym.143 

Whether such disclosure makes the author liable for breach of contract is a 
different question, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.144 Yet another 
question is whether authors who contractually waive their moral right of 
attribution can later change their minds and demand attribution.145 The 
general trend in France and Germany146 is to recognize these waivers as 
valid,147 but also to allow authors to unilaterally revoke them for the 
future,148 at least after the passing of a certain time period.149 

[...]

What distinguishes the British system from the French, German, and Italian
moral rights regimes is that the rights of attribution and integrity come
with a host of substantive limitations and exceptions that reduce the scope
of their application to the point where statutory moral rights become 
largely symbolic. Aside from a number of restrictions on remedies,284 for 
example, the rights of attribution and integrity do not apply to computer 
programs, to works made for hire, to works published in periodicals, or to 
collective works of reference,285 and authors of musical works need not be 
named when the work is publicly performed.286 Moreover, it is doubtful 
whether the right of attribution includes a right of anonymity,287 and the 
CDPA specifically states that the right of attribution is not infringed 
unless previously asserted in a written instrument, with the exception of 
the public exhibition of artistic works, in which case affixing the 
author’s name to a copy of the work is sufficient.288 With respect to the 
right of integrity, the statutory definition of “derogatory treatment” 
explicitly excludes translations of literary or dramatic works, as well as 
arrangements or transcriptions of musical works involving no more than a 
change of key or register,289 and it is questionable whether the
right of integrity covers contextual modifications in addition to actual
modifications.290

Aside from the issue of scope, the most important feature of statutory 
moral rights law in the United Kingdom is its exceptionally generous waiver 
regime.291 The CDPA allows authors and directors to validly consent to any
act that violates their moral rights.292
---

regards,
alexander.
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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Drazen Kacar
James Carlson wrote:
>  Merijn de Weerd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> > Basically, this says "if Sun ever forgets to credit you,
> > or performs something you consider a mutilation of your
> > work, you won't sue Sun".
> 
>  That's basically true.  If such a thing weren't there, then other
>  contributors (including both people inside Sun and those outside)
>  would be unable to fix any bugs in the code you contribute.

Why? AFAIK, Sun has (or has had) employees in Ireland. Irish copyright
law gives such moral rights to individuals, the said rights are not
transferable and there's no way to give them up, as far as Irish law is
concerned.

Did that prevent other people to fix bugs in their code?

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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Drazen Kacar
James Carlson wrote:
>  Drazen Kacar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> > James Carlson wrote:
> > 
> > That's void under my local copyright law,
> 
>  Perhaps.  I'm not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one.  Particularly
>  so for the ".hr" domain.

Well, the .hr domain has copyright law which is similar to copyright
laws in a large number of Europeean countries. And, of course, they
don't have the same laws. Nor even the same governing principles for the
copyright law.

>  I do note that you've conveniently omitted the preceding sentence
>  which makes it clear that it's to the extent permitted by law.

I have. That was because the agreement specifies USA law, so my sentence
quoted above was meant as an example of a different law, nothing more.

However, there's no court in the USA which would apply something that's
not in the USA copyright law. That was supposed to be the point.

Besides, sententes which say "to the extent permitted by law" in various
contracts, agreements and licenses are there for one purpose only: most
countries have a law which says that the whole contract is void if one
provision is illegal (that is, not permitted by some law in that
particular country). So the contracts, agreements and licenses meant for
international cosumption have a statement which makes the rest of the
contract, agreement or license legal. And that statement is "to the
extent permitted by applicable law" or something to that effect.

That is the default in such matters. I didn't think I had to point out
the defaults.

>  My understanding is that "moral rights" are not necessarily the same
>  as copyrights in all countries, which is why they're called out
>  separately.

I do not follow. As far as I can see, the term copyright, as a "one
right", doesn't mean anything unless you mean it to include all the
rights under the particular copyright law.

>  But if you have a concern here with this or with any
>  other contract language, then you really need competent legal
>  representation.

I don't have a concern with syntax (contract language), I have a concern
with semantics (what it means).

>  Turning to netnews as a way to get legal advice is a questionable
>  tactic.

I wasn't looking for legal advice, I was merly trying to participate in
the discussion.

> > And then:
> > 
> >This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
> >California and applicable U.S. Federal law, without application of
> >choice of law rules.
> > 
> > That, in case one does not live in the State of California, happens to be
> > a pretty large giveaway.
> 
>  Nonsense.  It protects both Sun and the contributor from being dragged
>  to arbitrary third locations to defend themselves.

Dragged by whom? USA is as arbitrary third location from my point of
view. The whole USA, not just California. And I certainly don't want to
be dragged in any USA court. I have nothing against them, but, you know,
there are people who just don't live in the USA.

>  But, again, if you don't understand the language there (legalese is
>  indeed dense stuff), you're best off getting good counsel.

In which country?

>  Anything else -- regarding this license or the GPL or any other legal
>  matter -- is nearly pure guesswork.
> 
>  You wouldn't ask a lawyer to write your code, would you?

Sigh. I asked a lawyer about certain things once, when I needed legal
advice. Two American lawyers, in fact. And they both said, among other
things, "Never give jurisdiction away". And then went on to explain the
reasons.

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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread Drazen Kacar
Casper H.S  Dik wrote:
>  Drazen Kacar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> 
> >Eh? But it says:
> 
> >   You agree never to assert against Sun or its licensees or transferees
> >   any moral rights therein.
> 
> >That's void under my local copyright law, but the provision certainly is
> >giving copyright rights away. And then:
> 
>  Why is that void in you rlocal law? (Just interested).

On principle, for the same reason why slave trade is illegal. In
jurisdictions which have them, the lists of rights which fall under
moral rights slightly differ, but in general those rights are not
something that has market value.

The usual one is the right to be identified as an author of the work in
question.

But then there are others. I'm not good at translating legal terms, but
there's a provision which says that the author has moral right to
prevent circulation of "butchered" derivations. For example, a film
producer might decide to add slimey happy end. No can do, unless the
director says it's OK. Contractual provisions which negate that right
are void.

In case of software, the same provision means that it's possible for the
author to stop circulation of a derivative work which happens to be so
buggy that it's practicly unusable and severly harms author's
reputation. (This is my interpretations, there were no court cases, as
far as I know.)

And that's a right I'd like to retain. :-)

>  I'm not sure it is giving rights away; you retain the right to copy,
>  modify, etc; but you share that right with others.

Sharing is not a problem. Inability to put an end to the abuse is.

> >   This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of
> >   California and applicable U.S. Federal law, without application of
> >   choice of law rules.
> 
> >That, in case one does not live in the State of California, happens to be
> >a pretty large giveaway.
> 
> 
>  Please read:
> 
>   http://blogs.sun.com/webmink/entry/choice_of_venue
> 
>  before you think that this is a large giveaway.

I still think it's a large concession. But there's more than one issue.

>  (Exec. Summary: If the California courts have no jurisdiction, this clause
>  does not change that)

OK, let's start with that. The article says so, and the article is
probably correct, but I don't have a problem with the choice of venue
(that's what the article is all about). I have a problem with the
jurisdiction. Most countries don't have legal machinery which is
compatible with other countries, up to the point that other legal
systems are treated as non-existant.

There are practical reasons for that and I recognize them, but they
become my problem only if I agree for them to become my problem.

As far as I can see, the article assumes both parties live (trade, make
business or whatever) in the USA and then goes to say that California
courts have no jurisdiction unless both parties live, trade, make
business or whatever in California. That's all nice and fine, but what
if the parties don't live in the same country at all?

Side note: bilateral international treaties might or might not exist (no
way to tell, because I don't know in which coutry I'll live ten years
from now). There are multilateral international agreements about
jurisdiction problems which have a higher probability of being in
effect, but a lot of software licenses I've seen specify that they shall
not govern the case. Wonder why. (This is not related to the case in
question, I'm just being a smart-ass).

My second issue with the article is that it's about CDDL and not about
contributor agreement. When the CDDL was in draft I complained about
jurisdiction provision here, Joerg said he complained also (to Sun) and
that the issue would be taken care of. And it was, in a way. The CDDL
was changed to say that the party which is making the software available
will specify the jurisdiction in a note distributed with the software.

That isn't that bad and certainly makes CDDL more usable for parties in
other jurisdictions.

And it's not entirely unfair that Sun should be able to specify
jurisdiction for the software it's making available to other parties.
Since it's not selling, so trade laws probably don't apply.

However, in this case I'm supposed to be the party which is making the
software available to the other party, but I can't pick the
jurisdiction. I don't like it.

-- 
 .-.   .-.Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely
(_  \ /  _)   ceremonial.
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Re: Gentoo Linux copyright / CDDL question

2006-10-20 Thread James Carlson
Merijn de Weerd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Basically, this says "if Sun ever forgets to credit you,
> or performs something you consider a mutilation of your
> work, you won't sue Sun".

That's basically true.  If such a thing weren't there, then other
contributors (including both people inside Sun and those outside)
would be unable to fix any bugs in the code you contribute.

> And like Drazen noted, that
> kind of clause usually is void (especially the second part).

I have no idea about that.  If it's actually true, then more power to
you.

-- 
James Carlson, KISS Network<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive 71.232W   Vox +1 781 442 2084
MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757   42.496N   Fax +1 781 442 1677
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Linux: GPLv3, DRM, and Exceptions

2006-10-20 Thread Ciaran O'Riordan

Here's something I wrote about GPLv3 and Devices Rigged to Malfunction:
http://kerneltrap.org/node/7238


-- 
Ciarán O'Riordan __ \ http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3
http://ciaran.compsoc.com/ _ \  GPLv3 and other work supported by
http://fsfe.org/fellows/ciaran/weblog \   Fellowship: http://www.fsfe.org


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