[Bf-committers] extension clause

[Benjamin Tolputt]

On 22/11/2010 10:46 AM, Dan Eicher wrote:
> More likely your crime would preclude you from being protected under thelicensing terms since you were never the legal recipient of said
> software. Just because something is under the GPL doesn't give anyone carte
> blanche permission to use, modify and copy but merely the folks who legally
> obtained it.

Quite simply put, you are wrong on this. Once the code has been
distributed, it is legal for me to have & distribute a copy of it. The
hacking is illegal but the GPL license on the material makes it's
distribution legal once it has been sent "off-site" already.

The laws around hacking concern themselves with the intrusion, fraud,
and damage caused. They leave the distribution of material obtained to
the laws concerning copyright and trade secrets (where they are already
adequately covered).

Again, this is not something I am pulling out of thin air but what is
being advised to corporate decision makers by legal representatives.
Until such time as it is proven in court, this is the best a corporate
head can hope for in terms of "what is & isn't legal".

-- 
Regards,

Benjamin Tolputt
Analyst Programmer