Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon S. Allbery) Newsgroups: comp.sources.d Subject: Re: copyright terminology (long) Message-ID: <13199@ncoast.UUCP> Date: 2 Dec 88 23:49:43 GMT References: <391@tron.UUCP> Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon S. Allbery) Followup-To: comp.sources.d Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh Lines: 39 As quoted from <391@tron.UUCP> by moran@tron.UUCP (Harvey R Moran): +--------------- | Why a copyright notice? It is my (mis?) understanding that without | some such notice some programs have already been effectively | removed from the public domain by someone who's only connection with the | program is that they used a legal trick to abscond with it. I never | did understand how the legal trick was supposed to work. | | If my understanding is incorrect, I'd like to find out what is | correct, since my only intention is that the code for "s5last" and any | future offerings be freely distributable with a guarantee that they | *stay* freely distributable. +--------------- (1) With the recent change in copyright laws, I believe that such things as net.postings are automatically covered by copyright. However, it may not be the copyright you want.... (2) Many people consider the Gnu copyleft to be "overly restrictive". +--------------- | In the mean time, let me state that anyone whose purpose is not | restricting the free distribution of "s5last" in source form is | satisfactorily complying with the terms of its copyright notice. +--------------- Not true. A copyright notice is a legal document; if you do not describe the rights granted and/or reserved in proper legal detail, the copyright may bite back. (I got hit by this with the UNaXcess 1.0.x copyright.) If you want to be CERTAIN the copyright does what you intend, consult a copyright lawyer. ++Brandon -- Brandon S. Allbery, comp.sources.misc moderator and one admin of ncoast PA UN*X uunet!hal.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery ncoast!allbery@hal.cwru.edu allberyb@skybridge.sdi.cwru.edu allbery@uunet.uu.net comp.sources.misc is moving off ncoast -- please do NOT send submissions direct Send comp.sources.misc submissions to comp-sources-misc@.