gbranden pushed a commit to branch master
in repository groff.
commit 8c998c79d9aaa31455533439df449cb051597c18
Author: G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Sat Feb 7 12:55:15 2026 -0600
HACKING: Direct reader to copyright expert.
Also refill an abnormally ragged paragraph.
---
HACKING | 26 +++++++++++++++-----------
1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/HACKING b/HACKING
index 7ba0bfc87..2dc7868e0 100644
--- a/HACKING
+++ b/HACKING
@@ -149,17 +149,17 @@ Background
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
- business--a copyright notice also asserted a legal claim. (It remains
- useful to establish a basis for recovery of damages in U.S. civil
- copyright infringement cases.) But copyright notices have not
- constituted "assertions" of copyright for factual or criminal
- infringement purposes (in the United States) for around 50 years as of
- 2026. Removing a party's name from a copyright notice (as might
- happen consequent to code deletion or wholesale rewriting of
- documentation) is not a challenge or insult to that person or
- organization, and does not deprive them of legitimate legal rights,
- when and where doing so _makes the copyright notice more accurate_.
+ undertaken in the home or even in small- to medium-scale business--a
+ copyright notice also asserted a legal claim. (It remains useful to
+ establish a basis for recovery of damages in U.S. civil copyright
+ infringement cases.) But copyright notices have not constituted
+ "assertions" of copyright for factual or criminal infringement
+ purposes (in the United States) for around 50 years as of 2026.
+ Removing a party's name from a copyright notice (as might happen
+ consequent to code deletion or wholesale rewriting of documentation)
+ is not a challenge or insult to that person or organization, and does
+ not deprive them of legitimate legal rights, when and where doing so
+ _makes the copyright notice more accurate_.
Software developers relying upon copyright protection are responsible
for maintaining accurate copyright notices. In the U.S., making a
@@ -169,6 +169,10 @@ Background
overstating the recency of their efforts is, in the lay opinion of the
maintainer as of this writing, neglectful of responsibility.
+* For a deeper treatment of the subject from a domain expert, please see
+ Jessica D. Litman's monograph, _Digital Copyright_, freely available
+ on the Web at <https://repository.law.umich.edu/books/1/>.
+
What To Do
..........
_______________________________________________
groff-commit mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/groff-commit
