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From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: THE MEANING OF 'PUBLIC DOMAIN'...Lets define it!!!
Keywords: PD, FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE, LEGAL, COPYRIGHT, Amiga
Message-ID: <26034@usc.edu>
Date: 19 Jul 90 18:22:05 GMT
References: <157@cbmcel.UUCP> <2333@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil> <1990Jul19.142119.7485@uncecs.edu>
Sender: news@usc.edu
Organization: Felsina Software, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 34

>In article <2333@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil> nfs1675@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil ( Michael S Figg) writes:
>>As far as I am concerned, Public Domain software is that which is released by
>>the author without payment required up front. This includes freely distributed,
>>shareware, and other forms of publicly distributed software. This is only the
>>way I see it, others see it differently.

Bogus, bogus, bogus.  PUBLIC DOMAIN has nothing to do with "payment required
up front or not".  A work in the PUBLIC DOMAIN is a work in which the
author has RELINQUISHED ALL RIGHTS and therefore now belongs to the
public at large which therefore can do ANYTHING with it: copy it, sell it,
modify it, resell it, sublicense it, ANYTHING. FREELY REDISTRIBUTABLE and
SHAREWARE software is NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN.  It is software in which the author
STILL wishes to mantain SOME RIGHTS, mostly distribution rights and the 
right to make a profit.  Unlike somebody suggested, the definition of 
Public Domain in the US is pretty straighforward, and you don't need a 
lawyer to have that explained it to you.  Read Peter Cherna's posting
to get the full details.  Agin this is a pretty much black and white
issue: either something is PD or it is NOT.  Freely Redistributable and
Shareware are NOT synonims for PD.  Lots of people make that mistake,
and lots of people make the mistake that its is POSSIBLE to have
something being PD and STILL restrict the rights to the user (like "this
is PD, but no commercial use is allowed").  All those retrictions are
ABSOLUTELY INVALID and USELESS, since by declaring something PD, an
author relinqueshes ANY and ALL RIGHTS to it.

-- Marco





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