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33 Comments
- alphager, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24Quote from the Judge:
[T]he GPL encourages, rather than discourages, free competition and the distribution of computer operating systems, the benefits of which directly pass to consumers. These benefits include lower prices, better access and more innovation.
This marks the end for about 80% of the FUD SCO&Microsoft have been spreading the last 5 years. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+26Yeah I bet Kevin Rose has time to sit and personally move things to the front page just to piss you off. Moron.
- redcard, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15No it doesn't. It's an opinion. It's not even an opinion rooted in any legal precedent. It's made without any backing evidence cited in the judgement.
The fact is, it's NOT going to stop the FUD, and it likely (depending on jurisdiction) won't even be admissible in the SCO case.
One judge said "It's neato" in a judgement without any real evidence (because we didn't even get to the "real evidence" part.) When the GPL really gets tested, then call me. - redcard, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11This is inaccurate. The judge didn't toss the case because of the merits of the GPL, he tossed it on a technicality. This means that the GPL wasn't tested in court, but rather that the filer of the case was frivolous in nature. It doesn't answer the question, though, of the GPL's legality in the US.
- ehrichweiss, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10redcard: I don't know if you are aware of this but a judge's "opinion" is worth a lot more, legally, than a million of you or me's.
From dictionary.com:
5. Law. A formal statement by a court or other adjudicative body of the legal reasons and principles for the conclusions of the court.
You see, a judge's opinion will be entered in citations on that particular case, it defines where the law will likely go in the future. So maybe you should rethink what you just said about it being "just his opinion". - jarva, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8It's not up to kevin rose or anyone else @ digg to take this off of the front page, it's up to you to do it by reporting this as inaccurate, so don't wine in the comments, just report it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6modularsky,
No, he did not strengthen the GPL in any court. His comments on the merits of the GPL are considered dicta; they hold no authority, weight, or precedent. The only opinion in that case that held weight was the dismissal based on the frivolous nature of the case. - modularsky, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8You're right that it was thrown out on a 'technicality' (how much of a technicality is the inability to properly present a case, and simply wasting the courts time is a puzzle to me) -- but the judge, in his dismissal, strengthened the GPL's case in any other court of law.
- orbitalleader, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"a judge's opinion will be entered in citations on that particular case"
No. There's a formal written opinion AFTER THE CASE IS COMPLETED that becomes part of the record. These are informal comments that have literally no legal bearing. What this judge did is not part of the legal record, because the case never made it that far. This was not a legal opinion in the legal sense of the word.
And yes, IAAL. - machx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9Maybe it's just me, but i've never seen why anybody would say the GPL wasn't a real license just because it's never been tested in court.
That said im glad the GPL's been tested, but it doesn't do much for me i'll still keep using it for my projects just like I did before this. - forgetfulca, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4orbitallleader has been -digg'd out of sight, but he's essentially correct. The title of the post does not represent the article, the GPL has not been defended. All that's happened is that a plaintiff (who couldn't even find a lawyer who'd represent) moronified himself out of *the preliminary steps* of a court case.
I badly want the gpl to be upheld as well, but so far I've never heard of it being contested. The parties involved always wind up settling before it comes to that. In my (ianal) opinion, that would seem to say everyone involved understands it's pretty incontrovertible and don't want to tangle with it. But then almost everything that happens inside a courtroom seems mystifying. - Chozabu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4even though it partly got thrown out of court cos the guy was messing up the procedure of complaint bout the gpl, its still cool news
- redcard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4A judge's comment without any factual evidence does NOT strengthen the GPL's case. We didn't get to the evidence part of this case, people.
- manitcor, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6while the case may have been thorwn out for the various mistakes made. The fact that the judge published this in his opnion:
[T]he GPL encourages, rather than discourages, free competition and the distribution of computer operating systems, the benefits of which directly pass to consumers. These benefits include lower prices, better access and more innovation.
Will lend weight to any case aginst the GPL which argues to the contrary. IANAL but I dont think this is as strong as an actual decsision based on the merits of the GPL however it will likely be considered by any other judge when reviewing any similar case. - Barnstormer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Poor grammar in the head line. 'Held up' could be taken to imply that the GPL was impeded in some way or that restrictions were placed on it. The word you wanted was "upheld". Whether that is an accurate description is another point entirely.
- ProphetSix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yeah, agreed. The tile should have been "GPL up-held in court", not "held up". Small change, big difference.
- Crazy_8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"C'mon, Rose; if you're going to throw crap on the front page make sure it's accurate." ---orbitalleader
.....Do you even have a clue how Digg works? Better yet, do you know why you "Digg" things? - MrUnderbridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2His complaint was that the GPL was impeding his ability to market an operating system. Hence, Linux, presumably since Hurd would presumably still be inferior to Wallace's hypothetical OS.
Had his complaint been that he was impeded in his developing a paint program, I'm sure GIMP would have been cited. - rekrapt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"orbitallleader has been -digg'd out of sight, but ..."
That's 'cause you catch more flies with honey than vinegar... - graywh, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7The title doesn't fit the article.
- spling, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4And why is this in linux/unix? GPL is not OS specific.
- cliedwar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2redcard and bwd01 are correct. This case does not affect GPL in any way. Basically, the judge told the plaintiff that the plaintiff couldn't get his paperwork correct and just being generally pissed at GPL doesn't count for squat. The court even gave the plaintiff 4 tries to get it right. After that the court told the plaintiff to stop screwing around with its time.
Reported as inaccurate. - forgetfulca, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Uh, no, his moronic comment about Kevin Rose is not essentially correct, and that's why he was -digged."
He was -digged because a horde of largely apathetic diggers took a glance and quickly decided that he must be just trolling. Then once a bandwagon had formed, those who came after also decided that must be true, since there was already a number of thumbs down. Read what he said again. He had obviously READ the article completely, well enough to perceive the dichotomy between what it said and what the posted article was claiming. The GPL wasn't upheld. It wasn't even mentioned inside the courtroom. Why? Because the case _didn't even get started_
And then he castigated the poster for jumping to the wrong conclusion, rightly so. If we're all going to be ad hoc reporters we had either better get it right or there will be terabytes of misinformation flying around. What good is that? - forgetfulca, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1>> Why would anyone thumbs down this comment? The one by machx above. I don't get it.
Well, probably because 'this case' hasn't tested the gpl. They didn't get that far. The judge's comments about the gpl at the end are just that, statements of opinion, since he made no ruling. - Rickard, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Why would anyone thumbs down this comment? The one by machx above. I don't get it.
- thewebguy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4while the judge did make some great comments about the gpl, it was in no way held up by the ruling.
reeeeeeeported. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Was a gun used in the hold up? Did anyone get a good look at the perp?
- noseeme, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Awesome, that made my day.
I've always wondered what this kind of case would be like. - ianam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"orbitallleader has been -digg'd out of sight, but he's essentially correct"
Uh, no, his moronic comment about Kevin Rose is not essentially correct, and that's why he was -digged. - rekrapt, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Santa Claus Rules!!! And, watch what you say about the Easter Bunny you litigious jerk.
- MoeB, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Okay Mr. Sherman, everything stinks.
- orbitalleader, on 10/12/2007, -12/+1"It's not up to kevin rose or anyone else @ digg to take this off of the front page"
I'm sure you look forward to your yearly visits from Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as well. - orbitalleader, on 10/12/2007, -61/+13-no digg, inaccurate. The judge did not uphold the GPL; this was thrown out for different reasons.
C'mon, Rose; if you're going to throw crap on the front page make sure it's accurate.
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