Re: What's the status of sourceless live linux distros?

[David Kastrup]

Alexander Terekhov <terekhov@web.de> writes:

> David Kastrup wrote:
> [...]
>> > http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=40D8767D.5A830BA%40web.de
>> 
>> So where did you get the authorization to create copies for the
>> purpose of redistribution under terms different from the GPL?
>
> I don't care what the GPL says about redistribution. I do it 
> under 17 USC 109. The "authorized source" didn't ask me and I 
> made no promise.

You can't just assume you are authorized to copy and redistribute
under whatever conditions you fancy, you know.  If people forget to
lock their doors, you can't claim that they implicitly authorized you
to haul away their furniture just because it is there.

And weaseling around like that is not likely to buy much sympathy in a
court.  It's about as convincing that while you fired a gun at
somebody, you should not be liable to prosecution because letting a
piece of metal leave a barrel is not illegal, and that you should not
be accountable for the law of inertia carrying that bullet onward.

It is, after all, the intent of the law that matters.  And if you make
copies with the sole intent to weasel around copyright law, you will
hardly be able to claim that somebody else is supposed to be
accountable for that.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum