Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!novavax!weiner
From: weiner@novavax.UUCP (Bob Weiner)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Use of texinfo on proprietary software
Message-ID: <1524@novavax.UUCP>
Date: 9 Oct 89 23:00:59 GMT
References: <50@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM>
Organization: Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lines: 25
In-reply-to: baur@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM's message of 8 Oct 89 09:20:37 GMT
Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.47.5 of Tue Sep 15 1987 on novavax (berkeley-unix)

In article <50@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM> baur@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Steven L. Baur) writes:

   I would like to distribute texinfo formatted manuals in source as part of a
   proprietary software package.
   Is this permissable?

   If I can distribute the manuals, can I also distribute the info files, or
   do I have to just specify that the receiving site must have GNU emacs and
   format it themselves?

Many people confuse the purposes of the GNU copyleft.  It is meant to
protect the availability of the software tools (including source and
object code fragments) and their documentation, not their use.

The FSF has no, nor I would assume, do they want any control over
anything you write using GNU Emacs.  In the same vein, the copyleft does
not impede people from producing their own texinfo and info
documentation.

Remember, the FSF is trying to make people more productive, not to make
them salivate at the idea of using advanced tools to produce wholly new
works, only to find that a tight copyright prevents such usage.
-- 
Bob Weiner, Motorola, Inc.,   USENET:  ...!gatech!uflorida!novavax!weiner
(407) 738-2087