Softwarerecht: Eine rechtliche Analyse der GPL 2.0.

Rechtliche Analyse der GPL 2.0

Die Open Source Lizenz GPL 2.0 ist gleichzeitig einer weitverbreitesten, gefürchtetsten und gleich komplexesten Open Source Lizenzen.Dies ist primär durch den Umstand begründet, dass diese einen Copyleft-Effekt vorsieht.

Vor diesem Hintergrund soll der Lizenz-Text der GPL 2.0.einer rechtlichen Analyse unterzogen werden. Der Text der Lizenz ist dabei in kursiv gehalten; die rechtlichen Anmerkungen hingegen in fett:

GNUGENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE

                      Version 2, June 1991

Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free SoftwareFoundation, Inc.,

51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA02110-1301 USA

Everyone is permitted to copy and distributeverbatim copies

of this license document, but changing it isnot allowed.

                           Preamble

 The licenses for most software are designedto take away your

freedomto share and change it.  By contrast, theGNU General Public

Licenseis intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free

software--tomake sure the software is free for all its users.  This

GeneralPublic License applies to most of the Free Software

Foundation'ssoftware and to any other program whose authors commit to

usingit.  (Some other Free Software Foundationsoftware is covered by

the GNULesser General Public License instead.) You can apply it to

yourprograms, too.

 When we speak of free software, we arereferring to freedom, not

price.  Our General Public Licenses are designed tomake sure that you

have thefreedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for

thisservice if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it

if youwant it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it

in newfree programs; and that you know you can do these things.

 To protect your rights, we need to makerestrictions that forbid

anyoneto deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.

Theserestrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you

distributecopies of the software, or if you modify it.

 For example, if you distribute copies of sucha program, whether

gratisor for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that

youhave.  You must make sure that they, too,receive or can get the

sourcecode.  And you must show them these termsso they know their

rights.

 We protect your rights with two steps: (1)copyright the software, and

(2)offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,

distributeand/or modify the software.

 Also, for each author's protection and ours,we want to make certain

thateveryone understands that there is no warranty for this free

software.  If the software is modified by someone elseand passed on, we

want itsrecipients to know that what they have is not the original, so

that anyproblems introduced by others will not reflect on the original

authors'reputations.

 Finally, any free program is threatenedconstantly by software

patents.  We wish to avoid the danger thatredistributors of a free

programwill individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the

programproprietary.  To prevent this, we havemade it clear that any

patentmust be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.

 The precise terms and conditions for copying,distribution and

modificationfollow.

Die Präambel ist für die Auslegung der GPL-2.0. von hoher Bedeutung. Folgende Aspekte sind dabei hervorzuheben:

-         Es wird ein klares Ziel verfolgt: Die Software soll für alle Nutzer offen zur Verfügung stehen

-         Die Empfänger der Software sollen die selben Rechte und Möglichkeiten haben, wie der Entwickler

-         Die Software kann durchaus auch gegen Entgelt angeboten werden

-         Es muss sichergestellt werden, dass der Empfänger ebenfalls den Sourcode empfangen kann und dass er über seine Rechte Bescheid weiß

-         Generell bestehen keine Gewährleistungsansprüche

-         Die GPL-2.0. ist mit dem Gedanken eine Software patentieren zu lassen nicht kompatibel

                  GNU GENERALPUBLIC LICENSE

  TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

 0. This License applies to any program orother work which contains

a noticeplaced by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed

underthe terms of this General Public License. The "Program", below,

refersto any such program or work, and a "work based on the Program"

meanseither the Program or any derivative work under copyright law:

that isto say, a work containing the Program or a portion of it,

eitherverbatim or with modifications and/or translated into another

language.  (Hereinafter, translation is included withoutlimitation in

the term"modification".)  Each licenseeis addressed as "you".

Hier kommt der Copyleft-Effekt erstmals zum Ausruck. Nicht nur das eigentliche „Program“ soll von der Lizenz umfasst sein, sondern auch „work based on the Program“ sowie „derivative Work“.

Ob diese der Fall ist, hängt davon ab, was das Program „tut“.

Activitiesother than copying, distribution and modification are not

coveredby this License; they are outside its scope. The act of

runningthe Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program

iscovered only if its contents constitute a work based on the

Program(independent of having been made by running the Program).

Whetherthat is true depends on what the Program does.

 1. You may copy and distribute verbatimcopies of the Program's

sourcecode as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you

conspicuouslyand appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate

copyrightnotice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the

noticesthat refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;

and giveany other recipients of the Program a copy of this License

alongwith the Program.

Diesem Absatz lässt sich entnehmen, dass folgende Aspekteklar und angemessen bereitgestellt werden müssen:

-         Eine Kopie des Quellcodes

-         Ein Urheberrechtshinweis

-         Ein Ausschluss der Gewährleistung

-         Eine Kopie des Lizenztextes

You maycharge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and

you mayat your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.

 2. You may modify your copy or copies of theProgram or any portion

of it,thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and

distributesuch modifications or work under the terms of Section 1

above,provided that you also meet all of these conditions:

   a) You must cause the modified files tocarry prominent notices

   stating that you changed the files and thedate of any change.

   b) You must cause any work that youdistribute or publish, that in

   whole or in part contains or is derivedfrom the Program or any

   part thereof, to be licensed as a whole atno charge to all third

   parties under the terms of this License.

   c) If the modified program normally readscommands interactively

   when run, you must cause it, when startedrunning for such

   interactive use in the most ordinary way,to print or display an

   announcement including an appropriatecopyright notice and a

   notice that there is no warranty (or else,saying that you provide

   a warranty) and that users may redistributethe program under

   these conditions, and telling the user howto view a copy of this

   License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but

   does not normally print such anannouncement, your work based on

   the Program is not required to print anannouncement.)

Theserequirements apply to the modified work as a whole.  If

identifiablesections of that work are not derived from the Program,

and canbe reasonably considered independent and separate works in

themselves,then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those

sectionswhen you distribute them as separate works. But when you

distributethe same sections as part of a whole which is a work based

on theProgram, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of

thisLicense, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the

entirewhole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.

Thus, itis not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest

yourrights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to

exercisethe right to control the distribution of derivative or

collectiveworks based on the Program.

Inaddition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program

with theProgram (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of

astorage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under

thescope of this License.

Punkt 2. lässt sich folgende Entnehmen

-         Sofern eine Änderung erfolgte muss dies, sowie das Datum der Änderung, ausgewiesen werden

-         Sofern das Werk veröffentlicht „publish“wird, muss das gesamte Werk oder die abgeleiteten Teile in ihrer Gesamtheit „as a whole“ für keine Kosten und unter den Bedingungen der Lizenz veröffentlicht werden. Damit wird:

o   Einerseitsder Copyleft zum Ausdruck gebracht und

o   Andererseits vermittelt, dass der Copyleft-Effekt nur greift, sofern und sobald eineVeröffentlichung („publish“) vorliegt

-         Die Informationen müssen grundsätzlich beim Start der Anwendung über ein eigenes Display mitgeteilt werden

-         Es wird auch der –  in der Praxis äußerst wichtige – Punkt dargelegt, dass identifizierbare Teile nicht als abgeleitete Werke gelten, sofern (wobei diese drei Kriterien kumulativ vorliegen müssen!):

o   diese unabhängig „independent“ und

o   abgegrenzte(„seperate“) Teile sind und

o   wenn diese Teile separat vertrieben („distribute“) werden

-         Hoch interessant ist weiters die Aussage,dass eine „bloße Vermengung“ („mere aggregation“) mit Speicher- oder Übertragungsmedien nicht zum Copyleft-Effekt führt

 3. You may copy and distribute theProgram (or a work based on it,

underSection 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of

Sections1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:

   a) Accompany it with the completecorresponding machine-readable

   source code, which must be distributedunder the terms of Sections

   1 and 2 above on a medium customarily usedfor software interchange; or,

   b) Accompany it with a written offer, validfor at least three

   years, to give any third party, for acharge no more than your

   cost of physically performing sourcedistribution, a complete

   machine-readable copy of the correspondingsource code, to be

   distributed under the terms of Sections 1and 2 above on a medium

   customarily used for software interchange;or,

   c) Accompany it with the information youreceived as to the offer

   to distribute corresponding sourcecode.  (This alternative is

   allowed only for noncommercial distributionand only if you

   received the program in object code orexecutable form with such

   an offer, in accord with Subsection babove.)

Diesem Absatz lässt sich entnehmen, dass:

-         Das das Program im Objektcode und in einer „executable form“ bereitgestellt werden muss

-         In Kombination mit einem maschinen-lesbarenSource Code oder

-         Mit einem „written offer“

-         Dabei ist der gesamte Source Code umfasst mitsamt allen Modulen, die dieser beinhaltet mitsamt sämtlichen „interfactdefinition files“ und Skripten um die Compilierung und Installation durchzuführen

Thesource code for a work means the preferred form of the work for

makingmodifications to it.  For an executablework, complete source

codemeans all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any

associatedinterface definition files, plus the scripts used to

controlcompilation and installation of the executable. However, as a

specialexception, the source code distributed need not include

anythingthat is normally distributed (in either source or binary

form)with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the

operatingsystem on which the executable runs, unless that component

itselfaccompanies the executable.

Ifdistribution of executable or object code is made by offering

accessto copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent

accessto copy the source code from the same place counts as

distributionof the source code, even though third parties are not

compelledto copy the source along with the object code.

 4. You may not copy, modify, sublicense, ordistribute the Program

exceptas expressly provided under this License. Any attempt

otherwiseto copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is

void,and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.

However,parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under

thisLicense will not have their licenses terminated so long as such

partiesremain in full compliance.

Dieser Absatz bringt zum Ausdruck, dass im dem Moment (bzw bereits im Falle eines Versuches) der Verletzung dieser Lizenzbedingungen das Recht zur Nutzung des Programs endet, sodass in diesem Moment – wie Gerichtebereits mehrfach bestätigten – eine Urheberrechtsverletzung eintritt.

 5. You are not required to acceptthis License, since you have not

signedit.  However, nothing else grants youpermission to modify or

distributethe Program or its derivative works. These actions are

prohibitedby law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by

modifyingor distributing the Program (or any work based on the

Program),you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and

all itsterms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying

theProgram or works based on it.

Auch wenn diese Lizenzbedingungen nicht unterschrieben wurden, sind diese einzuhalten.

 6. Each time you redistribute theProgram (or any work based on the

Program),the recipient automatically receives a license from the

originallicensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to

theseterms and conditions.  You may not imposeany further

restrictionson the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.

You arenot responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to

thisLicense.

 7. If, as a consequence of a court judgmentor allegation of patent

infringementor for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),

conditionsare imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or

otherwise)that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not

excuseyou from the conditions of this License. If you cannot

distributeso as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this

Licenseand any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you

may notdistribute the Program at all.  Forexample, if a patent

licensewould not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by

allthose who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then

the onlyway you could satisfy both it and this License would be to

refrainentirely from distribution of the Program.

If anyportion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under

anyparticular circumstance, the balance of the section is intended to

applyand the section as a whole is intended to apply in other

circumstances.

It isnot the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any

patentsor other property right claims or to contest validity of any

suchclaims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting the

integrityof the free software distribution system, which is

implementedby public license practices.  Many peoplehave made

generouscontributions to the wide range of software distributed

throughthat system in reliance on consistent application of that

system;it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing

todistribute software through any other system and a licensee cannot

imposethat choice.

Thissection is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to

be aconsequence of the rest of this License.

Der Punkt 7. Ist für die Auslegung der GPL 2.0. sehr wichtig. Einmal mehr wird darin zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass die freie Nutzung derartiger Software sichergestellt werden muss. Etliche Personen haben für die Entwicklung unentgeltliche Beiträge geleistet; es wäre unfair, wenn diese Beiträge nun von einem „Trittbrettfahrer“ kommerziell verwertet werden.

 8. If the distribution and/or use ofthe Program is restricted in

certaincountries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, the

originalcopyright holder who places the Program under this License

may addan explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding

thosecountries, so that distribution is permitted only in or among

countriesnot thus excluded.  In such case, thisLicense incorporates

thelimitation as if written in the body of this License.

 9. The Free Software Foundation may publishrevised and/or new versions

of theGeneral Public License from time to time. Such new versions will

besimilar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to

addressnew problems or concerns.

Eachversion is given a distinguishing version number.  If the Program

specifiesa version number of this License which applies to it and "any

laterversion", you have the option of following the terms and conditions

eitherof that version or of any later version published by the Free

SoftwareFoundation.  If the Program does notspecify a version number of

thisLicense, you may choose any version ever published by the Free Software

Foundation.

Punkt 9. gilt es bei der Frage zu beachten, welche konkreteVersion der GPL 2.0. anzuwenden ist.

 10. If you wish to incorporate partsof the Program into other free

programswhose distribution conditions are different, write to the author

to askfor permission.  For software which iscopyrighted by the Free

SoftwareFoundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we sometimes

makeexceptions for this.  Our decision willbe guided by the two goals

ofpreserving the free status of all derivatives of our free software and

ofpromoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.

Punkt 10. vermittelt für den Fall eines, beispielsweise, Lizenzkonfliktes die Möglichkeit, sich an die Free Software Foundation zuwenden: FSFE - Free Software Foundation Europe.

                           NO WARRANTY

 11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OFCHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY

FOR THEPROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  EXCEPT WHEN

OTHERWISESTATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES

PROVIDETHE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED

ORIMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF

MERCHANTABILITYAND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS

TO THEQUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU.  SHOULD THE

PROGRAMPROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,

REPAIROR CORRECTION.

 12. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLELAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING

WILL ANYCOPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR

REDISTRIBUTETHE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,

INCLUDINGANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING

OUT OFTHE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED

TO LOSSOF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY

YOU ORTHIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER

PROGRAMS),EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE

POSSIBILITYOF SUCH DAMAGES.

Punkt 11 und 12. gibt den Text des zwingend zukommunizierenden Gewähr- und Haftungsausschlusses wider.

                   END OF TERMS ANDCONDITIONS

           How to Apply These Terms to YourNew Programs

 If you develop a new program, and you want itto be of the greatest

possibleuse to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it

freesoftware which everyone can redistribute and change under these terms.

 To do so, attach the following notices to theprogram.  It is safest

toattach them to the start of each source file to most effectively

conveythe exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least

the"copyright" line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.

   <one line to give the program's name anda brief idea of what it does.>

   Copyright (C) <year>  <name of author>

   This program is free software; you canredistribute it and/or modify

   it under the terms of the GNU GeneralPublic License as published by

   the Free Software Foundation; eitherversion 2 of the License, or

   (at your option) any later version.

   This program is distributed in the hopethat it will be useful,

   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even theimplied warranty of

   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULARPURPOSE.  See the

   GNU General Public License for moredetails.

   You should have received a copy of the GNUGeneral Public License along

   with this program; if not, write to theFree Software Foundation, Inc.,

   51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA02110-1301 USA.

Also addinformation on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.

If theprogram is interactive, make it output a short notice like this

when itstarts in an interactive mode:

   Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) yearname of author

   Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NOWARRANTY; for details type `show w'.

   This is free software, and you are welcometo redistribute it

   under certain conditions; type `show c' fordetails.

Thehypothetical commands `show w' and `show c' should show the appropriate

parts ofthe General Public License.  Of course,the commands you use may

becalled something other than `show w' and `show c'; they could even be

mouse-clicksor menu items--whatever suits your program.

Youshould also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your

school,if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the program, if

necessary.  Here is a sample; alter the names:

 Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims allcopyright interest in the program

 `Gnomovision' (which makes passes atcompilers) written by James Hacker.

 <signature of Ty Coon>, 1 April 1989

 Ty Coon, President of Vice

ThisGeneral Public License does not permit incorporating your program into

proprietaryprograms.  If your program is asubroutine library, you may

considerit more useful to permit linking proprietary applications with the

library.  If this is what you want to do, use the GNULesser General

PublicLicense instead of this License.

Für weitere Fragen rund um die Themen: Open SourceCompliance darf auf mein Buch „Handbuch Softwarerecht“ sowie auf meinen Softwarerecht-Online-Kurs verwiesen werden. Viel Erfolg bei der Herstellung von Open Source Compliance!

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