[development] Modules that integrate non-GPL PHP appsviolate the GPL.

[Larry Garfield]

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:34:39 -0400, Earnie Boyd <earnie at users.sourceforge.net> wrote:
> While a preamble is indeed a good idea the lack thereof doesn't harm
> the copyright or the license with which the package is distributed.
> The copyright is owned by the producer of the code and the license
> allows the copyright holder to give you the right to use it.  It can
> also be contrived that since I freely gave the code that is covered by
> my copyright to Drupal that I also transferred the copyright to Drupal.

Not true, unless you explicitly signed a document stating that you transfered copyright ownership to Dries Buytaert.  Unless I missed it, there is no such automatic transfer involved in committing to CVS.  (Some projects do have that, but not Drupal.)  

The "GPL means someone else owns my code now" line is a lie.  Period.  They can *use* your code, and can even redistribute it however they want as long as they do so under the GPL, but ownership remains with you until you legally turn it over to someone else.

(This email, by the way, is copyright 2007 Larry Garfield.  Forwarding it, including quoting it in a reply, counts as redistribution and is illegal under modern US copyright law without license.  License to redistribute this email and its contents are hereby granted to all readers under the GNU GPL.  That does not in any way shape or form diminish the copyright claim of Larry Garfield upon the work herein.  Welcome to modern copyright law.)

--Larry Garfield