Re:Open source body quits GitHub, urges you to do the same
by leereeves on Friday July 01, 2022 @11:35AM
(#31947902)
> Ideology does not factor into the interpretation of the law by judges in court cases
It certainly does. That's one big reason why judges often disagree and judges' rulings can often be predicted by which party appointed them.
But the copyleft ideology in particular rarely factors into court cases, because few judges care about it.
On balance, you are distributing software that is copyrighted (nothing you can do about that). The GPL gives users some limited permissions that undo some of the restrictions that come with copyright. Fair use applies to copyrighted material regardless of the license and is not something you can actually restrict with a license. That kind of is the whole point of fair use. So, the GPL, it's (supposed) intentions, and idealism don't factor into the equation here. That's just not how it works.
Sorry to burst your bubble.