Re: [Gimp-developer] urgent

[C R <cajhne gmail com>]

I don't believe I said it *needed* to be covered under the GPL, only that
it is, according to the GPL.
Intellectual property rights are such that unless you've explicitly waived
the rights to your own work, you own whatever you make regardless of what
tools you've made it with. Some software includes such clauses that
restrict what you can do with the output (Adobe's Student Licence, and
Apple's eBook Licence, are good examples). The GPL v3 does not contain any
such restrictions, and protects the user's right to run the unmodified
program, and further asserts acknowledgement of fair use provided by
copyright law.This addresses to some degree the main fear people have when
using software for commercial purposes: "Will the makers of this software
turn around and sue me for using something I made with it, for commercial
purposes. The answer, based on the clause I pointed out is "No".

Perhaps it would be better to include something in the GIMP's "about"
screen that puts this to bed. Something to the effect of: "This software
can be used to produce works for commercial or non-commercial purposes,
without limitation in the spirit of FOSS."

I am not a lawyer either, but my intent is to offer something with more
substance than a "yes" answer with no qualifying information, which is what
the entirety of the internet seems to erroneously accept as "legal advise".
The above is my understanding of the GPL based on my own research into the
matter, and having worked in the graphics industry for some years. I do not
claim to be an "authority" on the matter. Certainly, if anyone wants proper
legal advise, lawyers would be best.

-C



On Sun, Jun 1, 2014 at 12:13 AM, Michael Henning <drawoc darkrefraction com>
wrote:

> On Sat, May 31, 2014 at 11:06 AM, C R <cajhne gmail com> wrote:
> > Some off list concern was raised about the GPL being primarily applied to
> > restrictions for selling and redistributing the GIMP software, however,
> the
> > GPL v3 does speak about program output as well:
> >
> > "*2. Basic Permissions.*
> >
> > All rights granted under this License are granted for the term of
> copyright
> > on the Program, and are irrevocable provided the stated conditions are
> met.
> > This License explicitly affirms your unlimited permission to run the
> > unmodified Program. The output from running a covered work is covered by
> > this License only if the output, given its content, constitutes a covered
> > work. This License acknowledges your rights of fair use or other
> > equivalent, as provided by copyright law.
> > "
> > Applied to GIMP, this essentially means that as long as you own the (c)
> to
> > the materials used in your logo/image, your work is protected under the
> > GPLv3 licence, when output by GIMP.
>
> This isn't correct. Anything you make with GIMP does not need to be
> under the GPL.
>
> The clause you point out is specifically for programs that include
> GPL'ed content in their output. It does not apply for gimp. If you own
> the photos you started with, then you own the output.
>
> (IANAL, and the above is not legal advice.)
>
>   -- drawoc