possible readline license problem with ghc and -package util

Alastair Reid reid@cs.utah.edu
12 Jun 2002 01:00:33 +0100


> :) The question here is, are you (plural) really trying to write
> Free Software or just giving something away now, which will be
> closed and hogged later?

The copyright holder(s) of a piece of software is free to change which
license future copies are released under.  It makes no difference
whether the license is GPL, BSD, Artistic, Microsoft EULA, or
whatever.  (This is why the gcc team insist that all copyrights on gcc
patches be signed over to the FSF.)

In other words, the GPL gives no more protection against free software
becoming non-free than the BSD license.  The only defence against this
is for the copyright owners to make a legally binding promise not to
do so (as the FSF have done).

--
Alastair Reid