On Wed, 23 Apr 2003, Patrik Stridvall wrote:
While, I suppose, you can have a license the regulates this to, even if the LGPL doesn't, the problem is the doctrine of first sale means anybody that it can be distributed to can resell (or give) that copy to anybody that can't be distributed directly to.
And that is in no contradiction with the (L)GPL, as it does not restrict to whom we can redistribute, but rather under what conditions a derived work can be distributed.
But that is exactly what I said above. Should I interpret it as you agree?
But please note that the last step meantioned above is not distribution, it is sale (or gift) on an invidual copy allowed by first sale.
And as I said earlier, it makes the conditions for redistribution is rather meaningless, since anybody regardless or willingless or abillity to follow the redistribution conditional can indirectly for all intent and purposed have distributed to anybody your work, while seperately distributing anything that uses, modififies, adapts etc your work for his purposes on the end users computer.
The situation for the Microsoft Visual FoxPro (MVFP) runtime is almost identical since you analagous to above can for all intent and purpose have it distributed seperately.
Summary: Microsoft released the MVFP runtime for all intent an purpose for free since they thought that charging for it would be bad for their purposes.
Some people release some work under the LGPL because they thought charging for it would be bad for their purposes...
Nobody can both have the cake and eat it. Microsoft can't, I can't, you can't...
And futher more, again, Copyright law is designed that way on purpose, not by accident.