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From: magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Public Domain, Shareware, etc.
Message-ID: <9007270846.AA13467@thep.lu.se>
Date: 27 Jul 90 08:51:13 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 31

I'm looking for definitions of the various distribution forms for "free"
software. As far as I've understood, the definitions are as follows:

Public Domain: The software is totally 'public'; you may do almost what you
like with it - modify it, give it away - as long as you don't sell it opr try
to pass it off as your own.

Freeware: The software is copyrighted but given away for free. You're not
allowed to distribute modified versions.

Shareware: The software isn't free, but may be distributed freely. Once you've
tried it out and decided to keep it, you have to pay.

Does everybody agree that these are reasonable definitions?

Also, I have a few questions:

Am I permitted to take a PD program, modify it, and use it as a part of a
commercial program?

Is there a name for a distribution form which is like shareware, but you don't
*have* to pay for it, even if you keep it (but are encouraged to do so)? The
distinction is perhaps an academic one; I suppose lots of people keep shareware
without paying, but there's still a difference.


Magnus Olsson		     	| \e+ 	   /_	      
Dept. of Theoretical Physics 	|  \  Z	  / q	      
University of Lund, Sweden	|   >----<	      
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