[Samba] GPLv3 and Mac OS X

[Greg Byshenk]

On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 08:48:19PM -0700, Jeremy Allison wrote:
 
> People only go to court if they think they can invalidate
> the license - it's a testiment to the GPL that so few
> actions actually make it that far.
> 
> Eventually someone will make similar mistakes with GPLv3
> that were made with GPLv3 and it'll end up being enforced
> by a court, just as GPLv2 was. But I hope that isn't with
> Samba - court cases are exhausting for everyone involved.

If I may comment, this bit of the message seems a bit cavalier.

Yes, it may be that someone goes to court "if they think they can 
invalidate the license", but it is just as likely that a court
case results when two parties disagree about what a particular
license (or contract, or whatever) actually requires. In such
cases, it can be stipulated that there is a misunderstaning on
the part of at least one of the parties, but which of the parties
is indeed 'misunderstanding' is for the court to decide.

The goal of a legal action is to enforce one party's
interpretation of the license; it the court that decides whether
that interpretation actually -is- enforceable.

And this is why some (people, companies, etc.) like to have a
judgment by the courts: because there is then an official, 
legally "correct" and enforceable interpretation.

-- 
greg byshenk  -  gbyshenk at byshenk.net  -  Leiden, NL