Comment by lmm

True, and in practice most copyright holders who release their work under the GPL feel similarly. However, in general a copyright holder is under no obligation to accept such a settlement, and in principle if you distribute GPLed work without conforming to the GPL terms then you are liable for statutory damages (in the US, $50k for accidental infringement and $150k for wilful infringement, per act of infringement) just like for any other act of copyright infringement.