[Novalug] The Saga Conintues

Jay Sulzberger jays@panix.com
Sat Nov 11 22:38:31 EST 2006



On Sat, 11 Nov 2006, Ben Creitz <creitz@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 11/11/06, Jay Sulzberger <jays@panix.com> wrote:
>> It is not good.  Microsoft and Novell have nothing to do with my
>> use of free licensed code, my writing of code, my publication of
>> code.  To admit that Microsoft or Novell has anything to say
>> about what I do with free software is to surrender our main
>> principle: the code is licensed without trammels.  No third
>> parties have any shadow of a right to interfere with what you and
>> I do with our code.
>> 
>> Novell now works against free software.  Novell's agreement with
>> Microsoft is a deeper and more dangerous attack than SCO's false
>> copyright claims.
>> 
>> We can defeat Novell and Microsoft by rejecting their, truly
>> laughable, claim that we need permission from them to write, use,
>> and publish free software.  We do not need their permission.
>
> I am wary of the agreement, but I don't see how it amounts to a claim
> by either party that users of GPL software need permission from them
> to write/use/publish it.  Am I missing something?
>
> -Ben

The agreement is to give permission to some few people to write
and run software, as long as the software is never used for
commercial purposes.  The agreement assumes that Microsoft and
Novell could not give permission in some cases.  If we grant that
the agreement has any force, we have agreed that Microsoft and
Novell have the legal power to not give permission to me to
write, run, and publish my own software.

The agreement is based on a false principle: that we need the
permission of Microsoft and Novell to write, run, and distribute
free software.  We do not.  If we accept the agreement as having
any legal force whatever, we have surrendered the rights upon
which the free softwrae movement is based.

oo--JS.



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