Stuart Ballard wrote:
> It's possible to modify a GPL'd app to use a proprietary library, and
> run that, too, so long as you don't distribute the result (the fact that
> the modified app is a derived work is clearer in this case, too).
>
> The GPL only kicks in for distribution. Period. If that's not the case,
> then I've been very much misled in every licensing discussion I've ever
> had, and by the GPL FAQ and other FSF documents on the GPL. And if
> that's true then someone ought to really raise a stink, because I doubt
> I'm the only one.
Here's an edited extract of an email between RMS and myself about the subject.
...
RMS: You're assuming that "making normal use" cannot be making a derived work.
That assumption is not right, though. Making normal use of a module
CAN be making a derived work. For example, for a library, normal use
is ALWAYS making a derived work.
Etienne: So, what would be your answer to the question:
"Can I run proprietary Java applications and native JNI libraries under
Kaffe?"
RMS: My answer would be, no you can't.
Etienne: How come "running" a non-free Java program on Kaffe would violate
the GPL license? This is a point I have difficulty to understand.
RMS: Because it is linking the two together.
...
Etienne: Just to confirm that I now understand correctly...
Linking (dynamic and/or static) of an GPL work "A" with another work "B"
is addressed by clause 2 of the GPL, namely: "you may *modify* your
copy...". This is because linking "A" with "B" does *modify* "A".
The analogy would be to say that "linking" a work by Shakespeare (which
is in the public domain) with an "introduction and commentary" does
create a derived work, even though no word has been changed in
Shakespeare's text. So, the simple act of "linking" constitutes a
modification of the original work. Right?
RMS: Right. It makes a collective or combined work.
Now, you can ask RMS for clarifications, if you want.
Etienne
--
Etienne M. Gagnon http://www.info.uqam.ca/~egagnon/
SableVM: http://www.sablevm.org/
SableCC: http://www.sablecc.org/
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