Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!apple!usc!bbn!bbn.com!jgrace From: jgrace@bbn.com (Joe Grace) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++ Subject: Re: libg++ and copylefts Message-ID: <42888@bbn.COM> Date: 18 Jul 89 15:31:45 GMT References: <799@redsox.bsw.com> <6590194@hplsla.HP.COM> <318@gt-eedsp.gatech.edu> <2053@dataio.Data-IO.COM> Sender: news@bbn.COM Reply-To: jgrace@porter-square.BBN.COM (Joe Grace) Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA Lines: 32 In article <2053@dataio.Data-IO.COM> you write: > Redevelop libg++ from scratch. Explicitly make it *PUBLIC DOMAIN*. > This would solve those nasty copyright problems. I'm not sure this approach would really work in general since GNU can take software from *PUBLIC DOMAIN* and incorporate it under their copyleft restrictions. Someone pointed out how FSF seems to have taken some government subsidized code, copylefted it, and taken over maintenance of the code --- thereby killing the code's *PUBLIC DOMAIN* availability and utility. (We're talking hoarding here, folks.) Frankly, I think we need something new like copycorrect where code is treated as public domain except that it cannot be copyrighted, copyleft'ed or in any way copyrestricted. Such code would require a support repository and support network --- since presumably "Free" Software Foundation would find supporting such truly free code distasteful. The key is to avoid having the code or its successive versions become copyrighted, copylefted, or otherwise hoarded by any institution or foundation. = Joe = -- Joe Grace ARPA: jgrace@bbn.com UUCP: {harvard,husc6,decvax,etc.}!bbn!jgrace #include Joe Grace ARPA: jgrace@bbn.com UUCP: {harvard,husc6,decvax,etc.}!bbn!jgrace #include