Path: utzoo!yunexus!oz
From: oz@yunexus.UUCP (Ozan Yigit)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: libg++ and copylefts
Message-ID: <2783@yunexus.UUCP>
Date: 19 Jul 89 01:26:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: yunexus.2783
References: <799@redsox.bsw.com> <6590194@hplsla.HP.COM> <318@gt-eedsp.gatech.edu> <2053@dataio.Data-IO.COM> <42888@bbn.COM>
Reply-To: oz@yunexus.UUCP (Ozan Yigit)
Organization: York U. Communications Research & Development
Lines: 27

In article <42888@bbn.COM> jgrace@porter-square.BBN.COM (Joe Grace) writes:
>...  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.)

This is not factual: something that is released to public domain cannot,
IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM, be copyrighted by anyone, but even the slightly
modified versions may be copyrighted. FSF has a right to take PD code and
enhance/modify and make it NON-PD. We have the right to take the same
original PD code, and modify the same way, and keep it PD, or to sell it,
or hoarde it as we like.

>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. 

If I remember correctly, that is what MIT copyrights are like these days
(X windows?), it is copyright but you can do whatever you like with it,
enhance it, sell it, hoarde it (:-) whatever.

oz
-- 
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