Changeset - e8a8778ae5ec
[Not reviewed]
0 1 0
Bradley Kuhn (bkuhn) - 10 years ago 2014-03-19 16:39:40
bkuhn@ebb.org
All uses of \S should really have a ~ to avoid bad line breaks.
1 file changed with 7 insertions and 7 deletions:
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gpl-lgpl.tex
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@@ -1338,27 +1338,27 @@ identical in order to be held a derivative work of an original, while
 
``broad'' protection requires only a ``substantial similarity.''
 

	
 
\section{No Protection for ``Methods of Operation''}
 

	
 
The First Circuit has taken the position that the AFC test is inapplicable 
 
when the works in question relate to unprotectable elements set forth in 
 
\S 102(b).  Their approach results in a much narrower definition
 
\S~102(b).  Their approach results in a much narrower definition
 
of derivative work for software in comparison to other circuits. Specifically, 
 
the
 
First Circuit holds that ``method of operation,'' as used in \S 102(b) of
 
First Circuit holds that ``method of operation,'' as used in \S~102(b) of
 
the Copyright Act, refers to the means by which users operate
 
computers. Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland Int’l., Inc., 49 F.3d 807
 
(1st Cir. 1995).  In Lotus, the court held that a menu command
 
hierarchy for a computer program was uncopyrightable because it did not
 
merely explain and present the program’s functional capabilities to the
 
user, but also served as a method by which the program was operated and
 
controlled. As a result, under the First Circuit’s test, literal copying
 
of a menu command hierarchy, or any other ``method of operation,'' cannot
 
form the basis for a determination that one work is a derivative of
 
another.  As a result, courts in the First Circuit that apply the AFC test
 
do so only after applying a broad interpretation of \S 102(b) to filter out
 
do so only after applying a broad interpretation of \S~102(b) to filter out
 
unprotected elements. E.g., Real View, LLC v. 20-20 Technologies, Inc., 
 
683 F. Supp.2d 147, 154 (D. Mass. 2010).
 

	
 

	
 
\section{No Test Yet Adopted}
 

	
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@@ -1410,13 +1410,13 @@ license (872 F. Supp.2d 974 at 1002), the court held that the command
 
structure and taxonomy of the APIs were not protectable under copyright law.
 
Specifically, the court characterized the command structure and taxonomy as
 
both a ``method of operation'' (using an approach not dissimilar to the 
 
First Circuit's analysis in Lotus) and a ``functional requirement for 
 
compatability'' (using Sega v. Accolade, 977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cir. 1992) and
 
Sony Computer Ent. v. Connectix, 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000) as analogies),
 
and thus unprotectable subject matter under \S 102(b). 
 
and thus unprotectable subject matter under \S~102(b). 
 

	
 
Perhaps not surprisingly, there have been few other cases involving a highly
 
detailed software derivative work analysis. Most often, cases involve
 
clearer basis for decision, including frequent bad faith on the part of
 
the defendant or overaggressiveness on the part of the plaintiff.  
 

	
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@@ -1923,13 +1923,13 @@ core freedom-defending provisions of GPLv2\@, which are in GPLv2~\S\S0--3.
 
GPLv2\S\S~4--7 of the GPLv2 are designed to ensure that GPLv2~\S\S0--3 are
 
not infringed, are enforceable, are kept to the confines of copyright law but
 
also  not trumped by other copyright agreements or components of other
 
entirely separate legal systems.  In short, while GPLv2~\S\S0--3 are the parts
 
of the license that defend the freedoms of users and programmers,
 
GPLv2~\S\S4--7 are the parts of the license that keep the playing field clear
 
so that \S\S 0--3 can do their jobs.
 
so that \S\S~0--3 can do their jobs.
 

	
 
\section{GPLv2~\S4: Termination on Violation}
 
\label{GPLv2s4}
 

	
 
GPLv2~\S4 is GPLv2's termination clause.  Upon first examination, it seems
 
strange that a license with the goal of defending users' and programmers'
...
 
@@ -3027,13 +3027,13 @@ retaliation provisions. In our view, too little is known about the
 
consequences of these forms of patent retaliation. As we explain below,
 
section 7 permits distribution of a GPL'd work that includes added parts
 
covered by terms other than those of the GPL. Such terms may include certain
 
kinds of patent retaliation provisions that are broader than those of section
 
2.
 

	
 
\section{GPLv3~\S12: Familiar as GPLv2 \S 7}
 
\section{GPLv3~\S12: Familiar as GPLv2 \S~7}
 

	
 
% FIXME:  probably mostly still right, needs some updates, though.
 

	
 
The wording in the first sentence of section 12 has been revised
 
slightly to clarify that an agreement, such as a litigation settlement
 
agreement or a patent license agreement, is one of the ways in which
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@@ -3502,13 +3502,13 @@ course, it only requires that source code for the library itself be made
 
available. The work that ``uses'' the library need not be provided in
 
source form. However, there are also conditions in LGPLv2.1~\S6 to make sure
 
that a user who wishes to modify or update the library can do so.
 

	
 
LGPLv2.1~\S6 lists five choices with regard to supplying library source
 
and granting the freedom to modify that library source to users. We
 
will first consider the option given by \S 6(b), which describes the
 
will first consider the option given by \S~6(b), which describes the
 
most common way currently used for LGPLv2.1 compliance on a ``work that
 
uses the library.''
 

	
 
LGPLv2.1~\S6(b) allows the distributor of a ``work that uses the library'' to
 
simply use a dynamically linked, shared library mechanism to link with the
 
library. This is by far the easiest and most straightforward option for
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