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From: ddl@husc6.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Public Domain Yacc (Important)
Message-ID: <1179@husc6.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Feb-87 03:23:46 EST
Article-I.D.: husc6.1179
Posted: Fri Feb  6 03:23:46 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Feb-87 17:14:49 EST
References: <142@ems.UUCP> <1170@husc6.UUCP> <867@epimass.UUCP>
Distribution: world
Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge MA
Lines: 46

In article <867@epimass.UUCP>, jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck) writes:
> 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.

	Bison is unfortunately not public domain but includes the rather
complicated copyright of the Free Software Foundation.  The properties
of this copyright are still being analyzed.  Several people have claimed
that a version of yacc appeared on a DECUS tape of public-domain software.
Tomorrow I will look through our DECUS tapes to try to confirm this.  But
if I find yacc source and it "looks" like AT&T code, does that mean it
is proprietary?  Isn't another possible explanation that a copy was
distributed before AT&T became interested in making unix proprietary?
Can AT&T "take back" such a distribution?

> 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.

	I somehow doubt that it would be in the public domain.  But
if it would, then yacc is, right?  Could someone who knows the "legal"
answers to these questions comment?  How could everyone on the net
be required to "ante up?"  How do you prove that any individual is
a net reader, or even a poster?  (Obviously, I'm not writing this;
it was forged by some evil hacker...)  Full unix sources are available
via anonymous ftp from many sites.  Does this make them public domain?
Does this make all users of the internet subject to legal action should
anyone take advantage of them?  Please, never be scared to think!
	I don't really want to play devil's advocate, but everyone
else seems to take the approach of treating much more than need be
as proprietary and pretending incidents like this one haven't happened
rather that understaning the true consequences.  And yes, I do believe in
intelectual property rights.  But I want to understand how they work,
and, if it turns out that they work only for entities powerful enough to
threaten an entire population with vague legal action, then I want
to gripe.

					Dan Lanciani
					ddl@harvard.*