Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:57:01 -0800 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Danny Pansters" <danny@ricin.com>, <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: RE: BSD License "Innocence" Clause Proposal Message-ID: <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNIEIHFDAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <200603192356.50227.danny@ricin.com>
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>-----Original Message----- >From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Danny Pansters >Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 2:57 PM >To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org >Subject: Re: BSD License "Innocence" Clause Proposal > > >On Sunday 19 March 2006 23:16, Andrew Pantyukhin wrote: >> I'm not sure if I should start advocating the idea here. >> Some people must've had this thought before I ever >> did, I hope they will support me. >> >> We need a special clause in the license we release >> our work under. I'm not a lawyer, but I understand that >> it will be very hard to devise and formulate. Basically, >> it should state that under no circumstances and under >> no legislation should ever any entity be punished for >> breaking the license terms. >> >> I just can't sleep tight when a man can get sued and >> prosecuted because he copied a piece of my work >> without mentioning my name, whatever his motives >> are. At the same time, I respect my work and the work >> of other, and appreciate a way to state that names >> should be mentioned. >> >> So we need a "law", that can be followed and can >> be broken, but can't be enforced. >> >> What do you think, guys? > >I think that's called public domain. > >Since the BSD license like GPL defaults to normal copyright if >not followed or >accepted it's at *your* descretion whether or not someone >can/will be sued, >and no one elses. Nope. The real BSD license gives copyrights to the University of California, Berkeley. Mainly for historical reasons because BSD originated from there, but there is a legal reason also. You see, if I Ted Mittelstaedt release software copyright Ted Mittelstaedt, even if I give everyone rights to use it, I still retain copyright and later on I can change the terms of that copyright. That is what the courts have said I can do. As a result of this, people, when they use my work commercially they will need to get me to sign a piece of paper. If I'm not reachable, that's kind of hard. By giving the copyright to the University, it assures any future entity that there will never be any question of copyight rights to use the work since the UCB obviously isn't difficult to find, and is not likely to dry up and disappear. This is why FreeBSD is copyrighted The FreeBSD Project and not the individual developers copyrights. If you retain your own copyright on the work then your license might be a BSD-like license, but it's not the BSD license. >You're the copyright holder and you decided to cover >reproduction with the BSDL (you can make exceptions as you >please as well) on >top of copyright with or without a declaration of you asserting your >copyright -- which some feel makes your standing stronger (see >also: "all >rights reserved") in case you get involved in a copyright issue. > >The licenses themselves could only become of legal importance >if you accuse >someone of breach while they say they still accept the license >but believe >they abide to it. But that can only be started by your >declaring copyright >infringement. This is more prominent in the GPL but it applies >for the BSDL >as well I think. > >So what I think (IANALIJRS) is that you're proposing something that >essentially gives up copyright. That's the public domain as I >understand it. > >Dan >_______________________________________________ >freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list >http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions >To unsubscribe, send any mail to >"freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > >-- >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Free Edition. >Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.2.6/286 - Release Date: 3/20/2006 >
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