revOnline and Open Source

[Dr. Hawkins]

On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 7:01 PM, Monte Goulding
<monte at sweattechnologies.com> wrote:
> On 01/08/2013, at 11:31 AM, "Dr. Hawkins" <dochawk at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> If, OTOH, you
>> distributed a .livecode file, I think you're probably back to a
>> derivative work.
>
> Why? Are all images edited with GIMP derivative works? Are all MySQL databases derivative
>works? What about text files written with GPL software?

Generally, for those examples, no.

If I send a livecode script, it was made with an editor, but no parts
of the editor are there.

In a .livecode file,though, there are pieces written by the program
instead of me:  looking at mine, after a bunch of scipts, I see
add_table follwed by gobbledygook, crevGeneral, gobbledygook, and so
forth.  Some numeric sequences making no sense, and so forth.

It's including pieces of the program that created it, unlike a pure
script, and is a derived work.

A GIMP image, though, is just an image; a collection of dots & grids.
An eps editor, on the other hand, would probably create derivative
works, including bits of its own code.  Similarly for mysql, you write
code, which is from an editor, which doesn't include the mysql
program.

And to bring it all together, gcc is *not* gpl, but one of the many
QGPL (quasi-gpl) licenses (so is linux).  There is an explicit
exception to the gcc license disclaiming copyright.  Similarly, Linux
& co. explicitly disclaim to allow non-GPL kernel modules.

It roughly comes down to whether or not pieces of the virally licensed
software end up as pieces of the new work.


-- 
Dr. Richard E. Hawkins, Esq.
(702) 508-8462