Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?
Russ Nelson scripsit: And yet we know that bridges collapse. Is it reasonable to take steps against bridges collapsing? We (mostly) don't build bridges out of wood (software from moral rights countries), but instead out of steel and concrete (countries where people cannot retroactively change the license on open source software). Has anyone tried to revoke their (or their predecessor's) license and lost in court? I think not. Indeed the Raymond/Olanich paper at http://www.catb.org/esr/Licensing-HOWTO.html#changing discusses changing the license on OSS, which of course involves revoking the previous license. -- Using RELAX NG compact syntax toJohn Cowan co...@ccil.org develop schemas is one of the simplehttp://www.ccil.org/~cowan pleasures in life --Jeni Tennison co...@ccil.org ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss
Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?
On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 10:05 AM, Lawrence Rosen lro...@rosenlaw.comwrote: [This email best viewed in HTML format] ** ** Hi Ben, ** ** It would be difficult for Linus Torvalds to complain about porn when he intentionally released an operating system that is so ideally suited for the delivery of porn. It would be like Michelangelo complaining because derivatives of his statue of David revealed some private parts. IANAL, but the intent of moral rights is to provide for the author's reputation for his or her work and to ensure that the author maintains some control over how the image of the work is maintained. For a practical tool this strikes me as somewhat of a mismatch just like protecting software as expression is a bit of a mismatch. For example, I don't know how Linus's moral rights would be interfered with if nobody knew that a specific porn site was being hosted on a service using the Linux kernel, although he'd seem to have a right to ask them to display a powered by Linux logo or refuse to let them use such a logo. Best Wishes, Chris Travers ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss
Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?
John Cowan writes: Russ Nelson scripsit: And yet we know that bridges collapse. Is it reasonable to take steps against bridges collapsing? We (mostly) don't build bridges out of wood (software from moral rights countries), but instead out of steel and concrete (countries where people cannot retroactively change the license on open source software). Has anyone tried to revoke their (or their predecessor's) license and lost in court? That's something different. I know that there's a theory which says that copyright permissions, even if granted irrevokably, can be withdrawn. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about moral rights, where you can put something under an open source license which (at least in our theory) allow changes without limit and yet the law of the country where moral rights exist allows the copyright holder to *prohibit* changes without limit. I hear a lot of whistling past the graveyard here. As people point out, it's never happened yet, and so it never will happen. Not a cause for concern; move along, nothing to see here. -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss
Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?
Russ Nelson wrote: I hear a lot of whistling past the graveyard here. As people point out, it's never happened yet, and so it never will happen. Not a cause for concern; move along, nothing to see here. Russ, among the things I worry about in FOSS, moral rights are among the least worrisome. I'd almost welcome litigation about this issue so that we can expunge morality from software. If you want to worry about copyright law, consider 17 USC 203. [1] Tell me what you experience as you drive over that bridge /Larry [1] http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/203 Lawrence Rosen Rosenlaw Einschlag, a technology law firm (www.rosenlaw.com) 3001 King Ranch Rd., Ukiah, CA 95482 Office: 707-485-1242 -Original Message- From: Russ Nelson [mailto:nel...@crynwr.com] Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2012 7:32 AM To: license-discuss@opensource.org Subject: Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain? John Cowan writes: Russ Nelson scripsit: And yet we know that bridges collapse. Is it reasonable to take steps against bridges collapsing? We (mostly) don't build bridges out of wood (software from moral rights countries), but instead out of steel and concrete (countries where people cannot retroactively change the license on open source software). Has anyone tried to revoke their (or their predecessor's) license and lost in court? That's something different. I know that there's a theory which says that copyright permissions, even if granted irrevokably, can be withdrawn. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about moral rights, where you can put something under an open source license which (at least in our theory) allow changes without limit and yet the law of the country where moral rights exist allows the copyright holder to *prohibit* changes without limit. I hear a lot of whistling past the graveyard here. As people point out, it's never happened yet, and so it never will happen. Not a cause for concern; move along, nothing to see here. -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss
Re: [License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?
Lawrence Rosen writes: If you want to worry about copyright law, consider 17 USC 203. [1] Tell me what you experience as you drive over that bridge I'll tell you in 35 years. -- --my blog is athttp://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog ___ License-discuss mailing list License-discuss@opensource.org http://projects.opensource.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss
