GNU General Public License and the Distribution of Derivative Works.
Mikko Välimäki · 2005
Summary. This article discusses the concept of derivative works in the context of computer programs. It has been a practical problem to evaluate when one work is not a derivative of another but an original and independent creation. The issue has become more important with the growing popularity of open source and free software. As more source code is freely available, more derivative programs will be compiled and distributed. The most popular open source license GNU GPL essentially governs the distribution of derivative works and therefore depends on the interpretation of this concept. This article first discusses both the legal and technical meanings of derivative computer programs and then analyses typical interpretation situations of GNU GPL from an international legal perspective. It is found that while the legal concept may be ambiguous and have dubious inter-pretations, such legal fuzziness hasn’t affected the popularity of GPL. Open source developers continue to use GPL as a powerful governance mechanism for different goals even though it may happen in the shadow of copyright law.