On Monday, Jun 23, 2003, at 02:44 US/Eastern, Thomas Bushnell, BSG
wrote:
The reason is quite clear: because otherwise one could very trivially
escape the GPL's requirements entirely, by making some little
modification directly to the binary for some program, and then
claiming that the binary is, ipso facto, the preferred form.
No, because a reasonable person (or, more accurately, a court applying
that standard) would not find that to be the preferred form of
modification. In the very least, he'd have to rise to the standard of
creating a derivative work.
OTOH, a if he made substantial changes, it would be.
