[Info-vax] The real problem that needs solving to grow VMS

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/15/22 20:23, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 12/15/2022 2:39 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> This one really confuses me.  What effect would declaring the GPL to be
>> invalid actually have?
> 
> That is a question for a lawyer.
> 
> But as a non-lawyer I would say that if anyone got some
> software under GPL license and GPL was declared invalid
> then that person did not have a valid license for the
> software and would have to stop using it or risk being
> charged with copyright infringement.

I expect the fact that it was made freely available on a very wide scale
would make that unlikely.

> 
> And a lot of stuff are under GPL: Linux, MySQL, GCC,
> WordPress etc..
> 
>>               Mind you, I have never thought the GPL would
>> actually stand up in court if it faced a serious challenge.
> 
> 25 years ago all businesses hated GPL.
> 
> Today most business love if not GPL then at least GPL software.
> 
> If it went to court and GPL lost in lower court, then I predict that
> the GPL defenders could collect a billions dollars to help with the
> appeal in an hour just by calling all the big IT companies.

Or the other possibility being that those billions of dollars would
be applied to arguing that because it was given away with a totally
bogus license it has actually been released into the public domain.

Remember, the whole thing began when an idiot tried to retroactively
license code he put in the public domain.

bill