linux-kernel - Re: "GPL weasels and the atheros stink"

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Message-ID: <46DB0960.9060405@austin.rr.com>
Date:	Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:05:04 -0500
From:	"Jonathan A. George" <jageorge@...tin.rr.com>
To:	Matthew Jacob <lydianconcepts@...il.com>
CC:	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: "GPL weasels and the atheros stink"

Matthew Jacob wrote:
>  > Question #1: Is it _ethical_ (legality aside) to take someone else's
>> actively maintained work (for example an OpenBSD driver) and make
>> changes which can not be shared/used by the original developer/maintainer?
>>
>> Answer #1: Considering that the whole reason I personally choose the GPL
>> for some projects is to prevent this sort of one way street behavior
>> _away_ from the original OSS developers/contributors _my_ answer must
>> be; No it is not ethical.
> 
> I beg to differ. If you want to put things out there for others to use
> but want to avoid having the situation as you describe it, simply
> license the work as such (which would be neither BSD nor GPL)-
> requiring any changes to come back to the original maintainer.
> *Snort*. I seem to recall Unix commercial distributions that made
> claims that bug fixes that you made belonged to them.

... But is it _ethical_ (as opposed to legal) to violate the expressed 
intent of the original author ...

IP laws (including copyright) are generally used as an imperfect (and 
internationally inconsistent) mechanism to protect intent, but inexact 
application of those laws affects enforcement as law ... however, 
respect for intent remains the ethical standard by which I (for one) 
would prefer to govern my life.

--Jonathan--
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