Gilad Ben-Yossef <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> If your client has a patent on something which the program implements he
> can release the source code under the GPL without a worry because a
> patent license is still required to "practice the patent" - run the
> program even without any consideration of copyright issues.
The client presumably wants royalties from his patent. If so, he would
have a problem with distributing patented software under GPL. To quote
GPL:
... if a patent license would not permit royalty-free
redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies
directly or indirectly through you, then the only way you could
satisfy both it and this License would be to refrain entirely from
distribution of the Program.
I am not legally qualified to assess the following situation: if I am
the patent-holder, can I give you the program (for fee or for free),
say it is GPLed, say the patent license is *not* royalty-free, and let
you figure out from the above that GPL notwithstanding you cannot
redistribute the program... According to my understanding of the
spirit of GPL, I should not call the license GPL then...
To the OP: I believe there is not enough information for any of us to
give you a considered opinion. While some of us have a pretty good
overall understanding of GPL, I know from experience that the IANAL
qualifier is a very serious one. I have had some experience discussing
GPL in legal terms with lawyers. I can only suggest that your client
should get a very good lawyer and a very good technical consultant (I
don't know if any freelancers subscribed to this list will want the
job, but I certainly think there are one or two who would fit the
bill), and make them work together. The GPL is a highly specialized
and technically complicated specimen of IP law, and lawyers usually
don't have the requisite technical know-how to deal with it on their
own, and need guidance. That's where the technical consultant will
come in. The techie himself will not be able to give a qualified legal
advice, so you will need both, presumably paying each one by the hour.
--
Oleg Goldshmidt | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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