> You're right that that could happen (someone put the GPL on code covered
> by a patent for which they do not have the right to distribute patent
> access). It would be a very unusual legal situation, as the code would not
> be legally GPL-able. :-)
> 

See the entry for July 19, 2002 here:

	http://gcc.gnu.org/news.html

While it doesn't say that this license extends only to gcc (well, maybe to
all GPLed software), it would be a brave person who assumed otherwise and didn't check.

R.