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GPL is not a virus that will force your code open without your consent. In a lawsuit, could the copyright holder of a GPLed work force the opening of GPL-viola
by WalterGR 16y ago
GPL is not a virus that will force your code open without your consent.
In a lawsuit, could the copyright holder of a GPLed work force the opening of GPL-violating code as part of a GPL-violation settlement?
EDIT: I'm not a lawyer nor a student of the law. Presumably the copyright holder is entitled to some form of compensation, whether it's called a "settlement" or something else. Can the plaintiff dictate that the only form of compensation they will find sufficient is the defendant's release of the infringing code?
- alain94040 16y agoIf it's a settlement, by definition, you are not forcing the other party, since they agree.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- sqrt17 16y agoIn my understanding, they could not, just as they could not force any other software pirate to do what they please. It's just tht opening GPL-violating code is probably a cheaper alternative than paying damages (and as far as I know, there's a legal precedent for a GPL violator paying damages to the authors of the pirated code). Alternatively, a GPL violator could negotiate a proprietary license for the same code from the author(s) of the GPLed code they used - it's questionable whether (a) you can hunt down all the authors, since open source licenses specifically enable collaborative development of software and (b) whether all the authors would agree to such a deal, especially after the company in question tried to pirate their code without giving anything back in return.
- whyenot 16y agoIt could be part of a settlement (and I seem to remember a few cases where it has been in the past), but a settlement is an agreement between the two parties, nobody is "forced" to do anything.