Path: utzoo!yunexus!oz From: oz@yunexus.UUCP (Ozan Yigit) Newsgroups: comp.sources.d Subject: Re: copyright terminology (long) Keywords: s5last,pd-last,pd,freely distributable Message-ID: <925@yunexus.UUCP> Date: 28 Nov 88 16:16:33 GMT Article-I.D.: yunexus.925 References: <391@tron.UUCP> Reply-To: oz@yunexus.UUCP (Ozan Yigit) Organization: York U. Computing Services - Magic Group Lines: 30 In article <391@tron.UUCP> moran@tron.UUCP (Harvey R Moran) writes: >Why a copyright notice? It is my (mis?) understanding that without >some such notice some programs have already been effectively >removed from the public domain by someone who's only connection with the >program is that they used a legal trick to abscond with it. Nothing that is placed in the public domain may be removed from that domain, although a modified version of that same work may be copyrighted and hence restricted. The *original* cannot, in any way, be restricted. There are an uncountable number of literary and artistic work, not to mention major software packages (for example, franz-lisp) in this situation. I suspect though, that it takes some care to make a significant program public domain, to avoid future slime-trick (perhaps this is what you were referring to) where somebody copyrights a modified version of the work, and than attepts to claim that the public-domain version is in fact an illegal copy of their(?) work... For any major work, the best technique may be to have a "copyrighted" beta release, and then, drop the copyright in the final release with a statement indicating the release into the public-domain. oz -- You see things, and you say "WHY?" Usenet: oz@nexus.yorku.ca But I dream things that never were; ......!uunet!utai!yunexus!oz and say "WHY NOT?" Bitnet: oz@[yulibra|yuyetti] [Back To Methuselah] Bernard Shaw Phonet: +1 416 736-5257x3976