Re: GPL and other licences

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

   But you did not receive a copy. You received the instruction to do
   something with your principal's property.

And since the license applies to the _software_, and the license
explicitly grants the rights to redistribute, I am allowed to do so.

   But you are not the lawful owner (or have lawful possession) of the
   CD.  You're merely using it to execute your job.

You don't need to be the lawful owner of the CD, the license applies
to the softrawre, not the CD.  Please see section 0 of the GPL.

   > And since the employeer gave me access, leagl such, to the
   > content of the CD, then I can lawfully make a copy of that
   > content.

   If he transferred ownership of the copy to you, yes. If he merely
   instructed you to install the software on one of his computers, no.

No, he doesn't need to transfer the ownership of the copy.  He can
simply give me access to the content.

   Again, Alfred, the license is an agreement between you and the
   owner of the software.

And once again, software cannot be owned.  It is an agreement between
me and the _copyright_holder_.

   The license is not part of the software.

It is infact part of the software.

I suggest you read the following:

  0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains
     a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be
     distributed under the terms of this General Public License.  The
     "Program," below, refers to any such program or work, and a "work
     based on the Program" means either the Program or any derivative
     work under copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the
     Program or a portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications
     and/or translated into another language.  (Hereinafter,
     translation is included without limitation in the term
     "modification.")  Each licensee is addressed as "you."

     Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are
     not covered by this License; they are outside its scope.  The act
     of running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the
     Program is covered only if its contents constitute a work based
     on the Program (independent of having been made by running the
     Program).  Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.


Cheers.