Humberto Massa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > @ 28/06/2004 15:38 : wrote Brian Thomas Sniffen : > > >A whole bunch of your argument was balanced on the claim that one > >had to accept the GPL in order to receive the licenses it offers, > >because it's a contract, and that it had to be a contract, because > >one had to accept it to receive certain benefits. > > > >I don't think either of those is true, and this is a good example > >of why I think that. Calling it a nitpick doesn't make it less of > >a counterexample to your claims. > > > > Anyway, it depends on your jurisdiction. Here in Brasil, *every* > software license is a contract, and is ruled, aside from the > dispositions in Copyright Law (9.610/98) and Computer Programs Law > (9.609/98), to Contract Law and the Civil Code.
So something as simple as the MIT/X11 license -- "I grant to you a license to make derivative works of this work, and to trade in them and it without restriction" is a contract? Gosh. How can I enforce it against you? If I issue a license as my example above, but appending "provided you wear yellow underpants," and then discover that you have distributed copies of the software without wearing yellow underpants, can I enforce the contract against you and obtain damages or your performance of the underpants-wearing? Or do I go after you for infringing my copyright? > So, here, basically it's legally binding a license "contract" that > says you can only *use* the program or the data generated by it if > you are wearing yellow underpants (not really, but almost). > > >And I'll continue to argue that a license granted only by contract > >is non-free. To the extent that applies to the MPL, it's certainly > >relevant. > > > > IRT jurisdicions like ours where, every license is only granted by > contract, where do you stand? It may not be possible to have free software in such jurisdictions. I don't understand their laws well enough to say that it's impossible -- indeed, the other messages you've sent about a universal right to make any copies necessary for operation imply it's not possible to have *unfree* software there. -- Brian Sniffen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
