Say "Bye-Bye SCO!"

[Monty J. Harder]

On 9/25/07, Joe Fish <reverend.joe at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> we're talking about conveying certificates redeemable for GPLv3 software.


The GPL does not forbid charging money for software; it only restricts
additional charges  made for access to the source code.  So if I want to
sell GPLed software for $20, a Federal Reserve Note bearing the visage of
Andrew Jackson becomes a "certificate redeemable for GPLv3 software", and
everyone who spends one is now bound by the GPL.


This is why I went for the gift certificate analogy in the first place.  A
gift certificate is a promise made by its issuer to provide some goods
and/or services to a third party, who could otherwise purchase same for
cash. These vouchers, issued by Novell, grant permission to receive support
services, including downloads of updates from Novell's servers, which would
otherwise require payment to Novell.  It is Novell that makes the promise,
and Novell that makes it good.  Microsoft does nothing to make itself liable
for copyright infringement, either primarily or secondarily, by reselling
these certificates, any more than I make myself liable for health code
violations at a McDonald's by redistributing or reselling their gift
certificates or $20 bills.
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