thufir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:45:15 +0200, David Kastrup wrote: > >>> I don't see why their participation is required, it's between the buyer >>> and the manufacturer. >> >> No. The buyer has no rights derived from copyright law since he is not >> the copyright owner. > > The buyer is the guy who walks in off the street and purchases the router > (which run GPL'ed software)? > > To my understanding, the buyer does have the right, under the GPL, to > the source.
No. The copyright owner has the right to demand that the buyer gets the source. The buyer does not have this right. If I pay at a merry-go-round for a ride of my child, the child does not get the right to demand a ride. _I_ get the right to demand that it gets a ride. > After, the GPL is targeted, you could say, at buyers to protect > copyright owners. The GPL is targeted at _effectively_ providing the buyers of software with certain rights. But it has to go via the copyright holder: "Your honor, software buyers should have the right to..." "Richard, try to be coherent. You can't use "software buyers" and "right" in the same sentence in that way." "Your honor, as a software author I should have the right to..." "Granted. I just _love_ how right those words sound." >> Yes, but it is not the customer who can enforce this. The >> manufacturer has an obligation to the copyright owner to make the >> source available to his customers. > > > That seems backwards in that, for example, the copyright holder might > be dead, and lets say has no heirs and no will. Tough. Get your copy before it is too late. For example, there are people who take GPLed software, extend it, and rerelease under the GPL in order to follow their obligations, but don't give shit about the GPL or adherence to it regarding their own software. Now if someone lifts only their contribution from the GPL-licensed software and sells you proprietary binaries without the source, you are screwed. _You_ are not in a position to demand source, and the copyright owner, the _only_ one to make demands, can't be bothered. If you can't get him interested to take this up, you are plain out of options. Because you are the software buyer. See above. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
