A little GPL riddle (was: GPL as an evaluation license)

[Oleg Goldshmidt]

On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 2:09 AM, Aviad Mandel <aviad.mandel at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 1:22 AM, Oleg Goldshmidt <pub at goldshmidt.org> wrote:
>>
>> Someone gave you, i.e., "conveyed", "distributed", that object code
>> whose only purpose is to create the browser when linked to some GPLed
>> code. Therefore this object code is derivative work of the GPL code.
>> Therefore if it is not GPLed the aforementioned "someone" is in
>> violation of GPL. A user of such a browser who wants to have a look at
>> or modify the browser will have a petty good case.
>>
> Purpose? Where does the GPL say anything about purpose?

GPL v2,.paragraph 2:

"These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program,
and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in
themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those
sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you
distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based
on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of
this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the
entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote
it."


-- 
Oleg Goldshmidt | oleg at goldshmidt.org