Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!oliveb!epimass!jbuck From: jbuck@epimass.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sources.d Subject: Re: Public Domain Yacc (Important) Message-ID: <867@epimass.UUCP> Date: Thu, 5-Feb-87 16:42:44 EST Article-I.D.: epimass.867 Posted: Thu Feb 5 16:42:44 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 7-Feb-87 15:46:46 EST References: <142@ems.UUCP> <1170@husc6.UUCP> Reply-To: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck) Distribution: world Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA Lines: 30 Summary: I wouldn't advise using it In article <1170@husc6.UUCP> ddl@husc6.UUCP (Dan Lanciani) writes: >In article <142@ems.UUCP>, mark@ems.UUCP (Mark H. Colburn) writes: >> >> Sigh! I spent a week tracking down the person who I got the >> YACC sources from, just to make sure that the source was indeed >> in the public domain before I posted it. I really did, I tried. >> He lied. > In any case, it seems to me that once something has been >distributed in this way the proprietary status (if any) is kind of >lost. Assuming that this yacc is indeed AT&T's yacc, can AT&T really >prosecute everyone who picks up a copy from the posting? Well, they could conceivably sue Mark Colburn, the backbone, every news site, or whatever. One big lawsuit and Usenet is gone. I recommend that everyone get rid of the posted yacc. If you really want a pd yacc, "bison" is available from the Gnu project, and you won't be vulnerable to a suit. There has already been the case of a site removing itself from the net because someone at that site posted proprietary code. Someone could post the entire Unix source to the net. It would then be in the public domain. But AT&T would be entitled to recover tens of millions of dollars in damages to everyone responsible, and nontechnical people would decide who's responsible. Everyone on the net might be required to ante up. It's scary to think about. -- - Joe Buck {hplabs,ihnp4,sun,ames}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck HASA (A,S) Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California