Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!AI.MIT.EDU!tower
From: tower@AI.MIT.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Actual case of hoarding public domain code?
Message-ID: <8912201217.AA03597@wheat-chex>
Date: 20 Dec 89 12:17:24 GMT
References: <129245@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Sender: karl@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Reply-To: gnu-misc-discuss@cis.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: Project GNU, Free Software Foundation,
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   Date: 14 Dec 89 19:06:05 GMT
   From: urth@sun.com  (Rich McAllister)
   Organization: sun

   The justification for copyleft rather than just putting free software in the
   public domain seems to be "if it's not copyrighted, some Evil Hoarder could
   take it, make some trivial changes, copyright it, and then sue all the
   people who use the original PD product, or derive code from it."

   Rich McAllister (rfm@sun.com)

I urge all authors of code to not use the Public Domain.  One should
always copyright one's code and then add a statement (such as the GPL
or the BSD use statement) detailing what rights you give people to use
and re-distribute it.  

You'll never be legally surprised this way.

thanx -len 

PS: I would prefer you to use the GPL, but at least, I would like you
to prevent hoarding.