Jules Bean writes: > But you think that minors cannot work on GPL programs?
I said *if* a minor cannot agree to the GPL. I'm not entirely certain he can't. It is my understanding that the theory behind the unenforceability of contracts with minors is that they are considered to be unable to understand the consequences of entering into a contract. Thus if you get our 16 year old to agree to pay you $1000 a week for the use of your program and then sue him when he doesn't pay, the judge will tell you that the kid didn't know what he was getting into and you won't get your money. You probably will get your program back, though. One could argue that the GPL is different in that in accepting it the kid doesn't give anything up and so his decision cannot harm him. At worst the copyright owner would be unable to require specific performance and would have to settle for revoking the rights granted by the GPL, putting the kid where he would be had he never accepted it. Not much of a problem, really. A more serious question is whether a minor can license his own work without his guardian's consent. I don't think he can. I think that a court would rule that in doing so he is giving up valuable rights and that he is not competent to make the decision to do so. It is probable that a license (free or not) granted by a minor is void unless he gets his guardian's permission. > Come to that, minors presumably can't install (commercial or otherwise) > software themselves.. Sure they can. It is perfectly legal to enter into a contract with a minor. You just can't sue to enforce it. Thus our 16 year old can buy a game, cheerfully click on yes when asked if he agrees not to reverse engineer it, and then do so anyway with complete impunity. > Or make use of 'public domain' data. Huh?? -- John Hasler [EMAIL PROTECTED] (John Hasler) Dancing Horse Hill Elmwood, WI