> Under a strict interpretation of the GPL, a student who copied code out of a textbook to use in a commercial project would be infringing the license.
This interpretation is very surprising to me. Could you point out what language in the GPL you're interpreting in this way?
It seems pretty straightforward to me that section 5 of the GPL v3, "Conveying Modified Source Versions" (and the corresponding sections of earlier GPLs) would be applicable to this situation (provided that a non-trivial amount of code is incorporated by the student).
I thought because you were responding to my post saying using GPL code in a class, that you were claiming professors couldn't use GPL code in classes (they can). But you weren't saying that--I misread.
This interpretation is very surprising to me. Could you point out what language in the GPL you're interpreting in this way?