=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Claus_F=E4rber?= list-fsf-eu-discussion@faerber.muc.de wrote:
Even an include() statement does not make the plug-in in the form it is _distributed_ in a dereived work.
Hrm. The program cannot function independently and modifies the original at run-time. Sounds derived to me, but is it?
Of course, if it is based on a GPL'd sample, all this is moot.
It is probably not a very good idea to test this aspect of the GPL in court.
It is never a good idea to go to court, but sometimes one has to.
An alternative strategy in this case is to implement something similar to the "licence taint" that is now in Linux module loading and inform your customers in many-feet-high lettering that they just abandoned all hope of support. With PHP, maybe you could do this by reporting an md5sum of installed modules in any crash output? Just thinking aloud, really.
Claus (No I'm not yet a lawyer but a law student specialising in IP law)
Got any colleagues in the UK? ;-)