Z:gnu-www-ja-google-engineering-talk--59ca76-=3Cb=3ERICHARD:=3C/b=3E No, we can't./en

RICHARD: No, we can't. Basically he's asking if we can monopolize file formats. Well, the answer is, we can't do so using our copyright-based licenses, because copyright does not cover any idea, principle, method of operation or system; it only covers the details of expression of a work of authorship. So we can't, using our licenses like the GNU GPL, prohibit anyone from writing his own code to handle the same format.