Obfuscation and GPL [closed]

Question

This is a hypothetical scenario (ie: I just thought it up and I do not intend to do it!)

What stops a company from preventing the effective use of a derivative GPL work by doing the following

1. Fork the GPL project
2. Make a derivative work
3. Sell the derivative work and publish the source code in obfuscated form

So technicly they have released the source code back in to the community. but it is practicly useless.

I know that would be a pretty low thing to do and it would be against the spirit the GPL but does the GPL prevent against this type of abuse? If so how

Answer 1

From the GPL:

The “source code” for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it.

I guess it would be pretty hard to make a case that the (in whatever way) obfuscated form is the preferred form for modifying.

Answer 2

One other reason: Even if the source code is useless and the program for all practical purposes can't be modified, anyone who wants to could still redistribute the binaries free as in beer, without paying the company a dime.