David Kastrup wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > John Hasler wrote: > >> David Kastrup writes: > >> > But the one thing that you can't do is take his material and do with > >> > it as you like without heeding its license. > >> > >> mike4ty4 writes: > >> > But why forbid it? > >> > >> To increase the amount of Free software in the world. You may > >> choose not to participate. > >> > > > > Well, I can make both free and non-free software, at least I should > > be able to. > > You are. You just can't use free software of the GPL variety for > making non-free software. >
Yep. > > I guess that means just to steer clear of GNU code for the non-free > > projects. > > Certainly. > Yep. > > Which raises another question: What happens if I learn something > > from the GNU software, like a "trick" or a more efficient way of > > programming some algorithm? If I use that METHOD/KNOWLEDGE even if > > not the ORIGINAL CODE does this mean I have to GNU? > > Copyright concerns a particular expression, not the idea behind it. > Restricting access to ideas is the area of patents, not copyright. > > In order to be sure that no copyrightable expression from a good idea > remains, large companies employ a "cleanroom" tactic: one team > analyses the copyrighted code, and then writes a specification for it. > A different team without access to the original code then rewrites the > code from specification. If the whole is done in a well-documented > way, it is likely to hold up in court. > And what about an individual, not a multi-employee big fat corporation? > >> > why do you want to make other people's code free as a "price" for > >> > using "free" code? > >> > >> Why do you want to make people give you money as a "price" for > >> using your code? > > > > Because I need the money, for one. One can't do much without money. > > Well, so why do you want to make money off the work of others without > recompensating them? You are free to write to the copyright holders > of the GPLed software and negotiate a different license, and pay for > that privilege. > Of course it's totally up them (the owner) whether or not I have to pay for that privilege. Also, since I'd be starting from very little money, would they let me pay for it over time using the income I get from the program? Just out of curiosity, if you made a GPL program and I wanted to use a bit of code in a for-profit program (I'm not a big company though), would you want me to pay money up front or could I pay it off with the income I get? > -- > David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
