Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!iuvax!maytag!csg.uwaterloo.ca!giguere
From: giguere@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Eric Giguere)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Your articles sold for cash.
Message-ID: <1990Aug10.205849.1711@maytag.waterloo.edu>
Date: 10 Aug 90 20:58:49 GMT
Sender: daemon@maytag.waterloo.edu (Admin)
Organization: Computer Systems Group, U of Waterloo
Lines: 45

In article <650145312.12585@minster.york.ac.uk> ken@SoftEng.UUCP (ken) writes:
>PD libraries are allowed to make a "reasonable charge" for conveying
>software, such as cost of postage, disk, cost of running the company, etc.
>If they are charging more than this then they are breaking the law. I don't
>know whether this is criminal law (the police get involved) or civil law.
>Judging by most other PD libraries, the cost of the disks should be no more
>than about \(ps 5 / $10 (although it might justifiably be more if the
>customer base is much smaller).

There seems to be general confusion in parts of the net as to what Public
Domain status really implies.  A piece of software is in the public domain
if the authors have publicly renounced all rights (including copyright)
to their work.  "In the public domain" is not a concept limited to software.
Most (unclassified) government documents are PD.  Printed material whose
copyright has expired is PD.

So what does this mean?  If a program is truly PD, then I can do what I want
with it.  I can sell it to anyone I want.  I can make modifications and
copyright those changes.  I can include pieces of PD software in any software
I write.  It doesn't matter if I got it off the net for free.  The only thing
I can't do is try to copyright it again.  Once a work passes into the public
domain it is there forever.  You just have to find it.  (Note, however, that
copyright law allows for independent, original creation.)

Important note:  I'm talking about legalities, not ethics.

"But I want to keep the copyright on my program," you say.  Well fine.  No
problem there.  Just don't say "Copyright 1990 by Joe Programmer.  All rights
reserved." and "Released in the public domain."  in the same file!  The two
phrases together are non-sensical.  Your program CANNOT be copyrighted and
in the public domain at the same time -- the two are mutually exclusive.  But
keeping the copyright entitles you to assign rights as you see fit.  So it
IS sensible to include sentences like "This software can be freely copied for
non-commercial purposes." if that's what you want to do.  In this case you're
talking about "freeware" (if the author requests a payment then it's usually
called "shareware").  If you don't want your software distributed for anything
more than "reasonable" copying costs then you can say so.  (But as always,
enforcing such restrictions is another matter altogether.)

Anyone who writes software should really pick up a book on copyrights just
to get an overview of the issues involved.  And when in doubt, consult a
lawyer.  That's what they're there for.

--
Eric Giguere                                       giguere@csg.UWaterloo.CA