Re: OpenBSD bcw: Possible GPL license violation issues

[Pieter Hulshoff <phulshof@xs4all.nl>]

Michael Buesch <mb@...> writes: 
> We have always made and still make a great effort to keep our code clean 
> of any Copyright issues (cleanroom design). Please make sure you also do. 
 
It seems like most of the discussion here is focused on how this situation 
could have been handled and whether or not it was a mistake. I believe the 
quote above is what matters most here. 
 
If Open Source wishes to be taken seriously, then copyright violations need to 
be avoided. The way to do that professionally is by cleanroom design. If you 
use cleanroom design, this mistake could not even have been made! I think the 
fact that it happened shows a clear problem within the BSD development process 
for this project. 
 
Even if the copying had not been done verbatim, and/or if the GPL lines had 
been changed before committing the files to CVS, it would still qualify as a 
derivative work, and it would still have qualified as a copyright violation. It 
seems to me that Theo has more serious issues on his hands here than 
complaining about how this issue should have been handled. 
 
Kind regards, 
 
Pieter Hulshoff