"M. Warner Losh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> In message: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Gary W. Swearingen) writes:
> :
> : And yet the "Legal" page carries a claim of copyright for "The FreeBSD
> : Project"
>
> It is a psudonymous work by The FreeBSD Project.
Are you saying that "The FreeBSD Project" is a pseudonym for many of
individuals, or what? And why does it matter with respect to whether
an extra-legal entity may claim copyright ownership?
> : I've not seen a US statute about
> : false copyright claims, but I think it would be less risky to say "all
> : intellectual property is owned by its owners", in the manner of some
> : trademark statements.
>
> No, the above is perfectly legal under US and International Copyright
> law.
Well, I know that it's legal to omit one's own copyright claim, but
for some organization to lay claim to copyrights owned by you or me
seems very wrong. It's a violation of BSD-type licenses and a
violation of the concept of attribution that is behind the licenses.
A legal entity has made the false claim of copyright ownership,
whether that's an informal organization or the person who wrote the
claim with a pseudonym. I'm not sure how you or I have been damaged,
but I supose that a lawyer could find a way.
What is your theory of why it's legal? I'm really interested.
Are you saying it's just another way of saying "copyrights are owned
by individual members of the informal FreeBSD project"? That seems
legal enough, I guess, but it's a quite different statement, IMO. And
as it doesn't follow the form giving by US copyright law I wonder if
it is sufficent legal notice in the USA, if you plan to sue infringers
for the most money possible.
> For profit or not is irrelvant, given that there's no legally
> incorporated entity for the project.
I'm fairly sure that members of informal organizations can be held
liable for the acts of other members in the USA. For example, under
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("RICO") Act. And
even if all members could not be held liable, persons directly
responsible for the wrongdoing could be. Example wrongdoings are not
paying taxes on the profit or not reporting the profit. But I admit
that this issue seems unlikely to cause problems as long as someone
pays taxes on any obvious profits other than copyright licenses.
_______________________________________________
[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-hackers
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
