Steven D'Aprano <steve@REMOVETHIScyber.com.au> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 21:53:32 +1100, Tim Churches wrote:
> 
> >> Secondly, perhaps you should consider that dynamically linking to a
> >> work is creating a derivative work, which most certainly falls under
> >> the "modification" clause.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > I am sorry, but dynamic linking at run-time does not, by any stretch 
> of
> > the imagination, correspond to the definition of "derivative work"
> > above.
> 
> I don't have to stretch my imagination even the tiniest bit to see why
> program Foo (consisting of code X linked to code Y) is obviously derived
> from program Bar consisting of code X on its own.

Steven,

My point is that it may well be obvious to *you* that dynamic linking 
constitutes derivative work, but from the way "derivative work" is 
explicitly defined in the GPL itself, it doesn't. Look at the language of the GPL:

Section 0.
The "Program", below, refers to any such program or work, and a 
"work based on the Program" means either the Program or any 
derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a work containing 
the Program or a portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications 
and/or translated into another language.

The key verb is "containing", and I'm sorry, but "link" (or "reference" or 
"call" or whatever other verb could reasonably used to describe 
dynamic run-time linking) does not mean the same as "contain".

Tim C

