[Foundation-l] An argument for strong copyleft

[Anthony]

On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 10:46 PM, Andrew Whitworth <wknight8111 at gmail.com> wrote:
>  If A and B are both
>  GFDL, then C is also GFDL. If A is but B isn't, then C can't be
>  either.

Depends on what you mean by C being GFDL.  "The copyright in a
derivative work covers only the additions, changes, or other new
material appearing for the first time in the work."  So it's possible
for the creator of C to grant a GFDL license over "the additions,
changes, or other new material appearing for the first time in the
work".  In fact, if the creator of C says that C is released under the
GFDL, then that's what they're actually granting a license for.  But
that license naturally "does not extend to any preexisting material
and does not imply a copyright in that material."

Now, would doing so violate the copyright on B?  Sure, unless they
gave you a license to prepare the derivative work, or you were using
that derivative work under fair use.  Or maybe the copyright owner of
B just doesn't care.  Would it violate the copyright on A?  Much less
clear.  Jimmy Wales (and, at one point, apparently RMS) have taken the
position that if B is used under fair use, then the copyright on A is
not violated.  Is that even true?  What if the copyright owner of B
doesn't care to take it to court, for whatever reason?  What if they
can't take them to court, because it's a case of that good old
"permission plus fair use"?  What if the use is fair use for C, but
not fair use for A?

What if the license on B is CC-NC?  Then C can be released under the
GFDL, without violating the copyright on B, right?  But what if
someone wants to use C for commercial purposes?  Can they be sued by
B?  Does this violate the copyright on A?

I suspect there will have to be a whole lot of court cases before many
of these questions can be answered.  In many cases I think they're
going to be decided largely by whichever side has the better lawyer
during the test case.  And I doubt CC-BY-SA is much better in this
regard.