Re: [Stella-devel] Fwd: Re: Please help. How do I probably correct a GPL licensing violation?

[Eckhard S. <Eck...@we...>]

> It's not sounding that bad. Hm... assuming that Brad is 
> the sole copyright holder, we probably might even link 
> those games to the emulator again...

Brad isn't the sole copyright owner anymore. When he released
Stella under the GPL, everyone who then contributed code to the
project retained the copyright for it. So some of the copyright
even belongs to you Manuel. ;-) I'm not sure how the situation
was for the old versions of Stella, but I'm assuming that at
least the people who ported it to different operating systems
kept the copyright for that code. So if you are still using
some of the old Windows code, then the person who wrote it
still has a word in this.

So, if you can't or don't want to release all the games under
the GPL, or if you can't or don't want to distribute the
exact source code that you used to compile the current version
of CyberStella, then you violated the GPL. But that isn't
really a problem in this case. The only consequences that
arise from this are that the people who hold a copyright in
parts of the Stella code can legally force you to stop the
distribution of CyberStella, and that you loose the right
to release a new version of it, since all the rights granted
to you by the GPL are now void. Since you never signed the
GPL, no-one can force you to release the games under the GPL
for example.

Of course the copyright holders can re-grant you the GPL
right for Stella. Or they can make an exception for you
and allow you to distribute CyberStella with the games
linked to the executable. But since it might be difficult
to get permission for the linked CyberStella from everyone
involved, I think it might be better to "apologize" and
release a new GPL compliant version.

So what you should do IMHO is:

Create a version of CyberStella where the games are in an
extra file, that isn't needed to run the emulator.

Since it is required to include a copy of the GPL with
the executable, you should also write an explaination
about which parts of the distribution fall under the GPL
and which don't. This explaination also should include
your own license that explains what you allow the people
to do with the game ROMs and what not.

Also you need to create an archive with the exact version
of the source code that you used to compile the new release
of the executable. This archive should be offered from the
same place that you are offering the executable from.

Since the old version of CyberStella is violating the
copyright law, you should make a public announcement
asking everyone to stop distributing this version.

Since most of the people who have a copyright in Stella
are members of this list, I think if everyone here agrees
to this procedure, we might be safe from legal trouble
with this new release. But just to be sure you should
probably have us review your next release before you go
public with it. ;-)

What does everyone else think? Would this work?


Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg