Scope
The term is most often used pejoratively to describe the GPL, which requires that any derivative work also be licensed with the GPL. The viral component is described as such because the licenses spreads a continuing use of the licenses in its derivatives. This can lead to problems when software is derived from two or more sources having incompatible viral licenses in which the derivative work could not be re-licensed at all.
Although the concept is generally associated with licenses that promote free content, many proprietary licenses also have viral characteristics. For example, original equipment manufacturer source code software distribution agreements generally grant licensees the right to redistribute copies of the software, but restrict what terms can be in the end user license agreement. However, derivative work is much less common with proprietary licensed work and so the viral phenomenon is not as evident.
As an example of viral licensing outside software, after it was revealed that French author Michel Houellebecq plagiarized sections of Wikipedia articles in his novel La Carte et Le Territoire, some commentators said that this automatically made his entire book licensed under the ShareAlike license.
Read more about this topic: Viral License
Famous quotes containing the word scope:
“Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more, and none can tell whose sphere is the largest.”
—Gail Hamilton (1833–1896)
“For it is not the bare words but the scope of the writer that gives the true light, by which any writing is to be interpreted; and they that insist upon single texts, without considering the main design, can derive no thing from them clearly.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)
“Revolutions are notorious for allowing even non- participants—even women!—new scope for telling the truth since they are themselves such massive moments of truth, moments of such massive participation.”
—Selma James (b. 1930)