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From: ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: COPYRIGHT NOTICES (on program sources, of course)
Message-ID: <1598@sol.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 22-Aug-87 22:10:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: sol.1598
Posted: Sat Aug 22 22:10:30 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Aug-87 14:39:49 EDT
References: <6236@brl-smoke.ARPA> <25095@sun.uucp> <12133@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <14152@topaz.rutgers.edu> <337@brandx.rutgers.edu>
Reply-To: ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap)
Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept, Rochester, NY
Lines: 33

All this talk of filtering out sources that don't have "proper"
copyright notices on them has ignored why authors put conditions in
software they give out.

In the case of TeX sources, which says only DEK is allowed to modify,
that is because Knuth doesn't want multiple, unofficial base versions
running around. There is a mechanism for making "patches" with
"tangle".

The Kermit software is copyrighted, but is freely redistributable.
There is however an exhortation to use Kermit for peaceful purposes.

In the case of the notices on my insignificant software, I generally
have in mind two things: I don't want commercial interests making money
off it by claiming it as theirs, assuming it would even interest them
in the first place, and I would prefer not to see my software used for
millitary purposes. OK, so it's a political statement. But if you think
about it, there is no way I can afford to come sue you.  And even if I
did, it would be impossible for a court to decide if that time you ran
your 5000 line assembler program for a tank-tracking system through my
shell script was a violation.  I'd just get laughed out of court.

So if you think I'm saying such copyright conditions are well nigh
impossible to enforce, you're right.  But that doesn't mean they are
silly. The author is communicating her wishes about how the software
should be used.

Personally I'm grateful to software developers who give us good stuff
like Kermit and I am willing to go along with reasonable conditions,
or, in case of doubt, to try to adhere to the spirit of the
conditions.

	Ken