[possibly urgent] "GPL violation made easy" by Borland

[Christian Selig]

Hello to all of you!

First greetings to the US recipients, we at the FSF Europe are doing 
quite well :-)

Perhaps someone of you already has read 
http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/369/

Short summary:
Borland, a well-known vendor of proprietary development software, 
publishes its Delphi RAD Tool as "Kylix" for GNU/Linux platforms. There 
are so-called "professional" versions with more features, costing heavy 
money.

The potential problem is the "open" edition, which allows you to use a 
stripped-down (downloadable) version of Kylix to create exclusively GPL 
software. (Though its certainly no good idea to use proprietary IDEs to 
develop free software, its better than entirely non-free software.) No 
really big issue, because a proprietary IDE (editor, Makefile generator 
etc.) usually poses no legal threat to free software developed with it. 
But development with Kylix is usually very closed tied to the usage and 
linking of its component library. This component library is proprietary 
and fullfills the same task as Qt in KDE. Some issues never disappear ...

Besides that "old" Qt problem, the Kylix license is even more obnoxious 
than common proprietary licensing, because it allows Borland to audit 
you whether you have paid the right amount of money (possibly through 
your network!) and forbids you to take class-action suits against Borland.
Questions to the legal experts: Having applications link to that library 
- isn't that legally problematic?

I doubt that we can talk to these people seriously. It would be better 
to put out a warning on the FSF and FSF Europe pages to show that threat 
to free software and remind people to only use free software to write 
new free software.

Thanks for your patience and time,
  Christian Selig
  (FSF Europe - education and web dude^Wvolunteer :)

--
I am chaos.  I am the substance from which your artists and scientists
build rhythms.  I am the spirit with which your children and clowns
laugh in happy anarchy.  I am chaos. I am alive, and tell you that you
are free. - Eris, Goddess Of Chaos, Discord & Confusion