While the virii database is proprietary, it is licensed under the GPL and from what I can tell, unless of course it carries it's own independent license, giving credit where it is due is the proper things to do.
While his approach is not very professional, if you examine most of the GPL conditionally released software, you will see that the majority of it is released under the same circumstances and conditions.
You don't see credit for the use of existing libraries, Perl is a good example, look at amavis-new, it contains direct and specific code and information regarding ClamAV yet not one word of credit or even a thanks.
Whatever his case may be, it's between him and the Tomasz, everyone else not staking a claim has nothing to offer but opinion and I'm confident that Tomasz will put his foot down on any issue of infringement and use and demand a disclaimer.
If the said software is sold, Tom is legally entitled to a portion there-of because this third party software is relying upon his works so it's best to let Tom handle the matter since he knows what his rights are.
-- Dale
On Sep 22, 2004, at 08:27, Bart Silverstrim wrote:
On Sep 22, 2004, at 5:33 AM, Ralph Angenendt wrote:He has to link the database *somehow* into his program. Look up what the GPL has to say about that.
And: Hey, if you do not like the license of a program - do not use it. It is simple as that. If you want to use it - fulfill the license.
I think he believed he *was* fulfilling the license. He was, like some other companies apparently are doing, redistributing the database portion only. The "source" is open for anyone to look at (the database), and he made no attempt to hide where it came from and actively advertised that it was the ClamAV database. He was only creating (as I understand it) a gui and engine that compared files against the database in a way he wanted to keep proprietary.
The actual database he kept open for anyone to use or examine.
The problem, from the sounds of it, isn't "you're not following the GPL so you have to stop", it's "I thought I was following the GPL but your interpretation is different..."
I guess the only definitive answer would have to come from the database maintainers.
Personally I think the intent of the database's license was to keep it "open", not be stolen into other projects (or commercial projects). The fact that the person writing this is openly advertising where the database comes from and is trying to do good by the ClamAV team shows that his intent isn't to steal other people's work, but to expand its usage to people who ordinarily wouldn't be exposed to the ClamAV project. He's trying to work with the ClamAV people.
At any rate, this should probably be resolved soon...this type of argument is one of the criticisms of the GPL, that if any code is used then it opens the whole project to becoming open source. The database is a distinct entity in this project that can be ripped out and another database substituted instead; why can't a distinct portion of a program be GPL and held under GPL? The BSD license allows people to *integrate* the open code into proprietary projects and claim it as your own. This windows project isn't attempting to do that.
------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: YOU BE THE JUDGE. Be one of 170 Project Admins to receive an Apple iPod Mini FREE for your judgement on who ports your project to Linux PPC the best. Sponsored by IBM. Deadline: Sept. 24. Go here: http://sf.net/ppc_contest.php _______________________________________________ Clamav-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/clamav-users
------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: YOU BE THE JUDGE. Be one of 170 Project Admins to receive an Apple iPod Mini FREE for your judgement on who ports your project to Linux PPC the best. Sponsored by IBM. Deadline: Sept. 24. Go here: http://sf.net/ppc_contest.php _______________________________________________ Clamav-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/clamav-users
