/joh'liks/ n.,adj. 386BSD
The view of copyright and the GPL as it was back in the early 90's.
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The Free Software Foundation deserves high praise for leading the fight against locked-up software. Some GNU packages, such as GCC and EMACS, have been used by small firms and research groups to develop innovative and unique software and products, which would not otherwise have been feasible for these economically strapped entities. Even 386BSD might not have been possible had we not been able to leverage other resources like GCC. However, as the climate in which the copyleft was developed has moderated, we hope that the FSF will moderate its stand as well, and at the very least permit unfettered discussion and analysis of the code in print. We have every confidence that there will continue to be a flow of new software back to the source from companies, individuals and research groups. It is time vested interest started offering innovative and competitive works and stopped preventing innovation through the "anticompetitive" use of copylefts, open standards, and licensing. Those who maintain a competitive advantage through the inappropriate use of these methods, instead of through true innovation, have done so at the cost of the competitiveness of the entire domestic computer industry.
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