Re: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3

Ingo Molnar
2007-06-14T12:26:14Z

* Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk> wrote:

> > that's fine, but the fundamental question is: where is the moral
> > boundary of the power that the copyright license gives? The FSF
> > seems to
>
> Assuming a democratic state then the laws of the land ought to reflect
> the 'general will' (if you believe Rousseau anyway). They should thus
> define the boundary ['derivative work' generally ] according to the
> general good and with the consent of the people.

uhm, so if the MPAA and the RIAA pays for another nice piece of
legislation that extends the power of copyright owners, do you find it
morally justified to use those powers, as long as it's argued to be in
favor of some long-term goal that you judge to be moral, even if it
results in some "temporary injustice"?

i think that could be the main difference in thinking. I argue that the
only way to be moral is to be moral _now_, not "later, once this very
important fight for the common good is over". I think the moral approach
to this is to say _no_ to attempts to extend the license to beyond the
"moral scope" of the software we wrote - regardless of what new powers
are legislated into the hands of copyright owners. It's naturally hard
to do, because giving up power is always hard to do.

In other words: we need to apply our concepts of freedom and fairness
not only to the end result, but to the means and methods of achieving
those end results as well. The end goals are often forgotten, it's the
process that matters to the end result.

Or in yet another set of words: this concept of morality also happens to
be expressed fairly accurately in the thousands of years of 'quid pro
quo' concept. (shared amongst many, many cultures on this planet, shared
amongst far more cultures than the western 'freedom' concept.) (which
concept of quid-pro-quo fairness is likely coded into our brains and
into our thinking genetically - because it's a simple and very efficient
group survival method.)

Ingo