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So distributing copy of VLC with lots of malware added but still conforming with the GPL is okay?
by billpg 15y ago
So distributing copy of VLC with lots of malware added but still conforming with the GPL is okay?
- jbk 15y agoYes, this is ok, as long as VLC copyright is concerned. However: - Claiming that you are the original Author is not OK, because of copyright laws. - Adding restrictions on the usage of the software is not OK, because of the GPL. - As the VLC installer is GPL, the modified installers must be GPL'd too. - Shipping VLC commercially means shipping all the source code of all external libraries, which they usually don't. (Still GPL) - VLC, VideoLAN, x264 and VLC media player Trademarks are registered. (depends on the countries) - Scraping the website and the images is not ok. (copyright) - Wrongly impersonating a person or an organisation is not ok either.
- billpg 15y agoI think the trademark would stop my hypothetical evil plans more than anything else. If I had to call it "Bill's video player that isn't evil, honest." no-one would download it. (To say nothing of why someone who distributes malware would be at all concerned with copyright and trademark law.)
- omouse 15y agoWhich of those would be okay in a copyright-less world? Which ones are morally/ethically bad (without copyright law)?
- jbk 15y agoIf no copyright exists, then you can do all of the above. If no trademark exists, only the trademark one would be ok. If no patents exists, no change. Ethically, I would say that the biggest issue is to claim money for a work you haven't done.
- scott_s 15y agoGPL enforcement depends on copyright law. So, all GPL enforcement goes out the window without copyright law. I think everyone is already assuming that the above practices are morally and ethically bad. The problem is how to prevent them from happening, which most likely involves using the law.
- rhizome 15y agoThere is no "copyright-less world," but pot sure is fun, isn't it?
- omouse 15y agoI don't smoke the chronic, thanks for making an assumption and reducing the level of debate here to a juvenile level. Laws aren't natural, they're man-made things and they can be removed if they cause more problems than they solve.