On 17/05/10 02:04, Jordan Lewis wrote:
On Sun, May 16, 2010 at 6:54 PM, Tony Mechelynck <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: 2. "In the public domain". </quote> This looks promising; but one part has a "note" in lawyerese and the other a "defined term" in quotes, let us see... ah, I think this clinches it, and since there is an "or" clause, no need (I think) to check the other: <quote> GTN "In the public domain" GSN This means "technology" or "software" which has been made available ML 22 without restrictions upon its further dissemination. Note Copyright restrictions do not remove "technology" or "software" from being "in the public domain". </quote> I believe that Vim is "in the public domain" within the definitions used in that document (but of course, IANAL, nor do I play one on TV). No, I don't think that Vim is "in the public domain" at all or even according to this document. The definition you quoted has the key phrase "without restrictions upon its further dissemination." Even the first clause of Vim's license agreement here http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/uganda.html#license requires distributing the license itself alongside of any part of Vim that you choose to distribute yourself. I believe that this requirement, although trivial, constitutes a restriction upon further dissemination, which removes it from the public domain classification. I am similarly NAL, though. - Jordan Lewis
Well, isn't that clause there to ensure that further dissemination won't be stopped, and that copyright restrictions (which expressly don't remove software from the "public domain" as defined in that document) will be obeyed? All open-source software has similar requirements about the license being distributed together with it, it doesn't prevent further distribution.
Oh well, IANAL, YANAL, I suppose that's the kind of red tape which means Bram had maybe better find a friendly Dutch lawyer knowing about cryptology software distribution out of Amsterdam.
Best regards, Tony. -- `When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives' -- Robert A Heinlein, "If this goes on --" -- You received this message from the "vim_dev" maillist. Do not top-post! Type your reply below the text you are replying to. For more information, visit http://www.vim.org/maillist.php
