I just noticed that the Supreme Court denied cert in the case.
: An interesting case to watch is Liu v. PriceWaterHouse, wherein you might : say the agreement at issue, if validly enforced, is viral as to the : third-party Chinese programmers in a similar way that the GPL might be. : : : See, e.g., the Liu v. PriceWaterHouse case on petition for certiorari to the : U.S. Supreme Court. Liu v. Price Waterhouse, 182 F. Supp.2d 666 (N.D. Ill. : 2001), 64 USPQ2d 1463 (CA 7 2002). : : Rod : : Rod Dixon : Open Source Software Law : Blog: http://opensource.cyberspaces.org : : : : amado.alves wrote: : : > << : : > > I sense there are two senses to this word "viral". I'm really : : > > interested in this so I'll appreciate any input. One sense is the GPL : is : : > > viral because it spreads itself over derivatives i.e. forces : derivatives : : > > to be distributed under GPL (if distributed at all, that is : subsumed).* : : > > Is there another sense, perhaps more 'legal'? Thanks a lot. : : > : : > Ah but you see, the GPL does not FORCE itself. : : > >> : : > : : > Sorry, I still think "GPL forces itself upon distributed derivatives" is : a : : > true sentence. : : : : If you distribute a work that is a derivative of GPL-licensed : : code, and you do not comply with the GPL, you simply violate : : the license. The copyright holder can then demand a) that you : : comply with the license or b) that you stop distribution of : : his code. The GPL would be "viral" if you could not choose : : option b). : : : : > For me it is. Other words are: "infecting" (as 'bad' as viral), : : > "absorbing" (better), "reciprocating" (maybe the best). : : : : The problem with "viral" and "infecting" is that they have : : very strong negative connotations, and create an image that : : GPL-licensed code is just as bad as a virus that wipes your : : harddisk. It also creates the impression that any code on : : the same harddisk will somehow automatically "become" GPL- : : licensed. : : : : It is true that you have to be quite careful when importing : : GPL-licensed code in your project. But this is no different : : from other third party code; you have to study the license, : : figure out the implications and deal with them. If you take : : proprietary code from some vendor, you sometimes also get : : very problematic conditions imposed upon you. : : : : The main problem with the GPL is that it is not very clearly : : written (if you're a lawyer) and the copyright holder(s) are : : typically not available to answer detailed questions. Often : : it is practically impossible to track down all copyright holders : : to get clarification or an exception for your usage. : : : : Arnoud : : : : -- : : Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch patent attorney - Speaking only for myself : : Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: : http://www.iusmentis.com/ : : -- : : license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3 : : -- : license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3 -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3