Winamp contained modified GPL code, violating the GPL (github.com/winampdesktop)
18 points by mepian 19 days ago | 6 comments
Winamp contained modified GPL code, violating the GPL (github.com/winampdesktop)
18 points by mepian 19 days ago | 6 comments
That's just not true, surely? Lest everyone using any flavour of Linux is liable to the same problem?
How many apps out there are using GPL code? Android, for example.
Making a derivative in the sense of adding functionality to it, I get, but using it as-is as a component or library surely doesn't - and cannot - fall foul of the license else the entire technosphere is liable.
It is true.
> Lest everyone using any flavour of Linux is liable to the same problem?
The Linux kernel has an explicit "system calls are not linking" exception to avoid any possible confusion on this matter.
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/LICENSES/excep...
Merely using the kernel's facilities from user space does not make your program a derivative work of the kernel.