Raul Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Tue, Dec 14, 1999 at 03:00:12PM -0500, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote: > > The GPL is also not a contract, it's a public license. > > It's a license which offers contractual terms for those who wish to > redistribute the software. In exchange for restricting yourself to the > conditions of the license you gain the right to redistribute the software.
Ack! Precision of language is important. It's a license which offers terms for those who wish to redistribute the software. The terms are not contractual (though in many respects the *interpretation* of the words follows similar rules to the rules for interpreting contracts)--the terms are a grant of permission. You are trying to make it a "contract" by rephrasing it as an "exchange", but it really doesn't legally function that way. A contract has many properties that the GPL lacks. It is instead a grant of permission, like where a person gives you permission to borrow their car or walk across their field. Thomas
