My concern about https://spdx.org/ids is that its current drafting helps to perpetuate the fiction that licenses apply primarily to individual "files", not works, as if files on a filesystem have some real connection with copyrightability, boundries in copyright, and/or how licenses apply to works.
While the distinction might not matter in some cases, giving developers the impression that licensing is primarily a file-based phenomena serves to exacerbate commonly held confusions about how copyright licensing works. I suggest modifying the tutorial at https://spdx.org/ids to address the issue head-on, with perhaps a explanation on why you would carry license information in individual files at all. The *only* reason it's useful to do so is in case the file gets separated from its larger work. I'd suggest something like this: WHY put license information in every file? Ultimately, licenses apply to copyrighted works, and a single work is usually comprised lots of different files. However, because it's easy to bring a file from one work into another -- you don't even have to cut and paste, you just type "cp file1 /a/new/directory" -- it's really important to carry the license information in each file of your project as well as at the top level. The toplevel is the place for detailed information, and SPDX identifiers are short and easy to carry the information in every file, and you assure that your project's licensing decisions are not easily missed. -- Bradley M. Kuhn Pls. support of the charity where I work, Software Freedom Conservancy: https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/ _______________________________________________ Spdx-tech mailing list [email protected] https://lists.spdx.org/mailman/listinfo/spdx-tech
