 In another context, Steve Ballmer declared that code released under GPL is useless to the commercial sector (since it can only be used if the resulting surrounding code becomes GPL), describing it thus as "a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches".In response to Microsoft's attacks on the GPL, several prominent Free Software developers and advocates released a joint statement supporting the license.According to Free Software Foundation compliance engineer David Turner, the term "viral license" creates a misunderstanding and a fear of using copylefted free software.