Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2001 10:20:52 -0600 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in> Cc: j mckitrick <jcm@FreeBSD-uk.eu.org>, Giorgos Keramidas <keramida@ceid.upatras.gr>, Dirk Myers <dirkm@teleport.com>, freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: BSD, .Net comments - any reponse to this reasoning? Message-ID: <3B41F0E4.B55E6937@softweyr.com> References: <20010630174743.A85268@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> <20010630173455.T344@teleport.com> <20010701032900.A93049@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> <20010701132353.W344@teleport.com> <20010702152649.A18127@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> <20010702180222.A2667@hades.hell.gr> <20010702161055.A18543@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> <20010702172448.I4896@lpt.ens.fr>
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Rahul Siddharthan wrote:
>
> j mckitrick said on Jul 2, 2001 at 16:10:55:
> >
> > Well, that's a big piece of the puzzle, for me anyway. If the GPL can be
> > removed by the copyright owner, maybe it's not so evil after all.
>
> It cannot be "removed" by the copyright owner, but the copyright owner
> can dual-license it, or release an enhanced version under a different
> license.
Yes, the copyright holder by definition holds the right to specify how
copies can be made an used. That's what "copy" "right" means.
A complication for open source projects: if you have accepted contributions
of code (bug fixes, new features, etc) from others, and have not specified
that all contributions become your property, you may not be able to issue
the code under a new license without getting the permission of all of the
contributors. This is why the FSF asks for copyright assignment for the GNU
tools; it allows them to control (prevent) the issuance of the code under
other licenses. It's a great idea if you can get your contributors to do
it.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
wes@softweyr.com http://softweyr.com/
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