gbranden pushed a commit to branch master
in repository groff.
commit e718be5163afd374b3b4896bd4dfefd91b50f68b
Author: G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Fri Feb 6 03:33:03 2026 -0600
HACKING: Further revise copright law primer.
---
HACKING | 30 +++++++++++++++++++++---------
1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/HACKING b/HACKING
index 45963ff3e..7ba0bfc87 100644
--- a/HACKING
+++ b/HACKING
@@ -126,15 +126,27 @@ Background
appreciation for the efforts of contributors, past or present, which
is better done in documentation--and with explicit expression!
-* Copyright protection extends to portions of a work that constitute
- "original expression" (see below) and that are "fixed in a tangible
- medium" (such as paper or a non-volatile memory device) in the years
- declared in the copyright notice, except for those portions whose
- copyright durations have elapsed. But these durations are so lengthy
- that, in the United States as of 2025, no work of computer software or
- documentation has ever yet even _partially_ aged into the public
- domain. (Some has been placed into the public domain deliberately,
- and some never enjoyed copyright protection at all.)
+* Copyright protection is a legal monopoly of limited duration and an
+ economic policy scheme for the purpose of promoting, as the U.S.
+ Constitution puts it, "science and the useful arts". Over decades,
+ the scope of copyright (the nature of the works to which it can be
+ applied), the ease of its attachment, and the measure of its limited
+ duration, have all increased dramatically. (An economist might
+ observe that this is a progression characteristic of rentierism.)
+
+* In U.S. statutory law, copyright protection extends to portions of a
+ work that constitute "original expression" (see below) and that are
+ "fixed in a tangible medium" (such as paper or a non-volatile memory
+ device) at some point in time. That point in time is recorded as a
+ Gregorian calendar year in the copyright notice. A notice should
+ declare a list of one or more such years reflecting the initial
+ "fixation" and further alterations to the work constituting original
+ expression in later years. An exception can be made for portions of
+ the work whose copyright durations have elapsed. But these durations
+ are so lengthy that, in the United States as of 2025, no work of
+ computer software or documentation has ever yet even _partially_ aged
+ into the public domain. (Some has been placed into the public domain
+ deliberately, and some never enjoyed copyright protection at all.)
Historically--decades ago, and before digital computing was commonly
undertaken in the home or even in small- to medium-scale
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