Copyleft/guide Changeset - a625e05c30c9

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@@ -375,11 +375,10 @@ effectively no longer restricted by copyright law.   Software not restricted by

\subsection{Public Domain Software}

Theoretically, an author can create public domain software by disclaiming all

copyright interest on the work. In the USA and other countries that have

signed the Berne convention on copyright, software is copyrighted

automatically by the author when she ``fixes the software into a tangible

medium.''  In the software world, this usually means typing the source code

In the USA and other countries that

are parties to the Berne convention on copyright, software is copyrighted

automatically by the author when she fixes the software in a tangible

medium.  In the software world, this usually means typing the source code

of the software into a file.

Imagine if authors could truly disclaim those default control of copyright

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@@ -389,20 +388,22 @@ restrictions on software (i.e., prohibition of copying, modification, and

redistribution), removing the software from the copyright system usually

yields software freedom for its users.

Carefully note that software in the public domain is \emph{not} licensed

in any way. It is nonsensical to say software is ``licensed for the

Carefully note that software truly in the public domain is \emph{not} licensed

in any way. It is confusing to say software is ``licensed for the

public domain,'' or any phrase that implies the copyright holder gave

expressed permission to take actions governed by copyright law.

express permission to take actions governed by copyright law.

By contrast, the copyright holders instead renounced copyright controls on

Copyright holders who state that they are releasing their code into

the public domain are effectively renouncing copyright controls on

the work.  The law gave the copyright holder exclusive controls over the

work, and they chose to waive those controls.  Software in the public domain

is absent copyright and absent a license. The software freedoms discussed in

work, and they chose to waive those controls.  Software that is, in

this sense, in the public domain

is conceptualized by the developer as having no copyright and thus no license. The software freedoms discussed in

Section~\ref{Free Software Definition} are all granted because there is no

legal system in play to take them away.

Admittedly, a discussion of public domain software is an oversimplified

example.  First, disclaimer of copyright is actually difficult in practice.

example.

Because copyright controls are usually automatically granted and because, in

some jurisdictions, some copyright controls cannot be waived (See

Section~\ref{non-usa-copyright} for further discussion), many copyright

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@@ -414,10 +415,17 @@ simply purchased on the installment plan rather than in whole.  Thus, we must

assume no works of software will fall into the public domain merely due to

the passage of time.

The best example of software known to be in the public domain is software

that is published exclusively produced by the USA government.  Under

Nevertheless, under US law it is likely that the typical

disclaimers of copyright or public domain dedications we see in the

Free Software world would be interpreted by courts as copyright

abandonment, leading to a situation in which the user effectively receives a

maximum grant of copyright freedoms, similar to a maximally-permissive

Free Software license.

The best example of software known to truly be in the public domain is software

that is published by the US government.  Under

\href{http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105}{17 USC 101 \S~105}, all

works published by the USA Government are not copyrightable.

works published by the USA Government are not copyrightable in the US.

\subsection{Why Copyright Free Software?}