This makes the GPL sound very cultish. Shouldn’t the copyright holders of software be enforcing their licenses? I know it’s not cheap, but this conglomerate approach gives me an uneasy feeling.
Our legal system is so complicated that if you want to win, you need money to do so. You can’t win a case just because you’re right. You have to invest a lot of time and effort into proving to a judge or jury that you’re right, and that requires money. Sometimes the state will provide the money, but typically only for a criminal defense, not for a civil lawsuit.
This makes the GPL sound very cultish. Shouldn’t the copyright holders of software be enforcing their licenses? I know it’s not cheap, but this conglomerate approach gives me an uneasy feeling.
Of course copyright holders are enforcing licenses. The role of Software Freedom Conservancy is to help copyright holders to do so.
Why? Is the GPL so complicated that this is a necessity?
Well, enforcing any licenses is rather complicated if violators do not want to comply.
Our legal system is so complicated that if you want to win, you need money to do so. You can’t win a case just because you’re right. You have to invest a lot of time and effort into proving to a judge or jury that you’re right, and that requires money. Sometimes the state will provide the money, but typically only for a criminal defense, not for a civil lawsuit.