Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2013 16:31:43 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Joe <fbsd8@a1poweruser.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: use of the kernel and licensing Message-ID: <20130331163143.aabedff2.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <51583C91.5060000@a1poweruser.com> References: <CAJ%2Bvzi9RZN5F50fCDJBGJ23R2%2BrhAsC10WSt_PMeFhO=WU3UZA@mail.gmail.com> <20130331001209.GA69583@neutralgood.org> <51583C91.5060000@a1poweruser.com>
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On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 09:39:29 -0400, Joe wrote: > Does one have to file legal paper work with the government to be issued > a copyright on software? With _which_ government? :-) Basic understanding of copyright is: The stuff _you_ write happens "automatically" under _your_ copyright, because you are the creator. There is nothing you need to do to achieve the copyright - it's yours by acting. At the moment you write something like "(C) Joe Sixpack 2012" it's "set in stone". There might be other ways to prove (!) copyright, e. g. when one of your files appears in someone else's work, but now with the originator line saying "(C) Nick Nosewhite 2013". In case of a court trial which involves copyright, you can prove from your CVS "log of creation" (or whatever source management system or even file system you use) that _you_ have been writing that code, nobody else. > Does any software not having a copyright statement or any license > comments included in the source mean that it's public domain? I would assume this. Imagine a snippet of code with no author mentioned in it (or in the source it comes from, or any file it is accompanied by), how would you be able to conclude something _else_ than this is public domain with _no_ copyright holder? Note that copyright and license are two different things. A skilled lawyer will be able to explain it more precisely and show you how it applies for the jurisdiction you're living in. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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