In article <%[email protected]>, Hyman Rosen <[email protected]> wrote:
> 7 wrote: > > The output of a CD player is music and a derivative of the CD's binary > > data held within and the music is protected by copyright. > > > > The output of GCC are code structures that have been hand coded > > by someone with copyright over the way its been put together. > > When gcc produces its output, that output is legally protected > > by copyright because it embodies their hand crafted work. > > Please see <http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.pdf>, for example: > A ³derivative work,² that is, a work that is based on > (or derived from) one or more already existing works, > is copyrightable if it includes what the copyright law > calls an ³original work of authorship.² > > The consistent (and apparently deliberate) error made by the FSF is > to disregard the "original work of authorship" requirement. The > circular also goes on to say: > Compilations and abridgments may also be copyrightable if > they contain new work of authorship. When the collecting of > the preexisting material that makes up the compilation is a > purely mechanical task with no element of editorial selection, > or when only a few minor deletions constitute an abridgment, > copyright protection for the compilation or abridgment as a > new version is not available. > > Thus: the inclusion of runtime library code in the output of a > program does not create a derivative work because there has been > no original work of authorship involved in the creation of the > output. When the output contains pieces of runtime library code > it might be considered a compilation, but since the output has > literally been generated by a purely mechanical task, it is not > eligible for copyright protection as a compilation. > > It may still be possible to craft a license restriction on the > runtime library code that will make things behave in the way the > FSF would like, though. I believe the choice of library to incorporate is an "original work of authorship". Linking a set of object files and libraries is analogous to creating an anthology in traditional literature. The "purely mechanical" exception comes from a case involving a telephone directory. There's no creative authorship in taking an existing database of names, addresses, and phone numbers and printing them out alphabetically. -- Barry Margolin, [email protected] Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group *** _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
