Re: Effect of transfer of copyright on free software licenses?

[Hyman Rosen]

Tim Smith wrote:
> Section 203 really doesn't have anything to do with section 205.

You expressed concern that the transfer of copyright to GPLed code
from one party to another could cause problems because of 205. Now
you say...

> The use case for section 205 is something like this. Copyright owner A 
> assigns his copyright on his play to party B. A few days later, A gives 
> party C a non-exclusive license to stage a production of the play. Can C 
> stage the play? (It depends on whether B recorded the assignment before 
> A gave C the non-exclusive license. If B hadn't recorded, and C acted in 
> good faith, C's non-exclusive license stands).

...which makes sense - it means the term "conflicting" in the heading
<http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/usc_sec_17_00000205----000-.html>
    (e) Priority Between Conflicting Transfer of Ownership
        and Nonexclusive License.
refers to a case where the transfer and the license happen at roughly
the same time, and priority must be given to one. That means it doesn't
apply to licenses granted clearly before the copyright transfer, and so
your worry was groundless.

Section 203 allows an author to withdraw a grant, but only at times in
the distant future.

So do you agree that sections 203 and 205 should cause no worry to
users of GPLed code?