| Hmmm. I'm not sure what happens if you distribute a program under the GPL after
adding your own code protected by your own patents. I don't think the GPL
addresses that situation specifically; the closest it comes is the example in
section 7, to wit "if a patent license would not permit royalty-free
redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies directly or
indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it and this
License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the
Program."
Certainly if you added code protected under a patent you'd
licensed from someone else under restrictive terms, you couldn't distribute any
of it. But there doesn't seem to be anything in there about automatically
granting a patent license to the recipients of the software.
I'm sure this
has to have been discussed to death elsewhere on the net. For reference, here's
where the GPL lives:
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
Strangely,
they don't mention patents at all in the GPL FAQ, but they do include this
specific issue in the GPL Quiz (I did quite poorly, 3 wrong, but even after
examining the "correct" answers I missed, I can't say I agree they're consistent
with the GPL's language. I also think that if they actually want the GPL FAQ to
be a legal document they're going to have to actually make it one...) Here's
the relevant question:
9. Now FooCorp modifies Joan's browser to
include a technology they have patented. They distribute this modified browser
on CD. Are there any requirements in the GPL on how they may license their
applicable patent?
1. No.
2. Yes, they must allow everyone to
practice the patented technology for any purpose.
3. Yes, they must
allow everyone who uses any code from the browser to practice their patented
technology.
You chose 1, but the correct answer was 3. Section 7 of the GPL
explains patent licensing requirements.
The quiz is at
http://www.gnu.org/cgi-bin/license-quiz.cgi .
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