6 Aug
2009
6 Aug
'09
11:56 a.m.
On Thursday 06 August 2009 08:59:31 drew Roberts wrote:
On Wednesday 05 August 2009 21:26:19 Raymond Martin
wrote:
The code is GPL once you distribute it mixed with other GPL code and it
still can be put out under another license by the original author. So you are
splitting hairs where the context of the discussion needs to be considered.
It was understood about an original authors copyrights. Nonetheless, any
code mixed with GPL code and distributed automatically becomes GPL
regardless of any other distribution of the same code under another license.
An author does not have to give the code a license for it to come under GPL,
the act of combining it with GPL code and distributing brings the GPL into
force. The combining is considered a modified version of the original which
must be distributed under the same license.
See section A.2, subsection 5 of the GPL (version 2 in this case). Read the
sentence "Therefore, by modifying, or distributing the Program (or any work
based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so,
and all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing, and or modifying
the Program or works based on it.
End of story. Any combination with other GPL stuff automatically puts the code
under GPL. The distributing party is accepting the GPL by their own actions.
Distributing the resultant product causes the GPL to come into effect.
If they want to distribute their original code under a different license that
can also be done.
Raymond
This was all in the context of distribution. Perhaps this was not clear.
No, it was clear. The GPL cannot make someone else's code GPL *if* they
don't claim their own code to be GPL.
In your given context though, you indicate that the code claimed to be GPL
which would make it GPL because the author gave a GPL license to it, not
because it contained another author's GPL code.
Now an author *has* to GPL their own code that contains another author's
GPL code *or* be guilty of copyright violations but the second option is
available to the first author and the courts will have to sort it.