Re: License questions

From: Simon G Best (s.g.best_at_btopenworld.com)
Date: 08/12/03 

Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 21:23:14 +0000 (UTC)

Roger Schlafly wrote:
> "Simon G Best" <s.g.best@btopenworld.com> wrote
>
>>>Fairbrother has a legal theory that an author can irrevocably dedicate
>>>a piece of software with a GPL or BSD license, but that it is
>>>impossible for him to put it into the public domain. I think that he
>>
>>Peter Fairbrother's "legal theory" is somewhat supported by the
>>information published through the websites referenced above, ...
>
> I don't believe it. You found a web site that doesn't appear to
> address any of the above alternatives, so I don't see how it
> supports the notion that one alternative works better than another.

Both of those UK government websites support the notion of licensing.
Neither supports (or even acknowledges (or even mentions! [1])) the 'PD'
notion of voluntarily putting work into the public domain such that it's
no longer under copyright. That particular 'PD' notion just doesn't
seem to exist or be recognised in UK law. (If it did, then it would be
very odd for it not to get even a single mention [1] in either of those
sites.)

It does seem that, for UK law, Peter Fairbrother's "legal theory" is
correct.

Simon

[1] Apart from when reproducing members of the public's answers to
public consultation questions (in which case it was members of the
public, not the state, who were referring to the public domain in the
'PD' sense).

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What tune for a group project?
    ... do Born to Run-- ... Even if we could make a deal with an individual owner ... the web site to make an exception to their no-copyright ... Public domain is definitely the way to go for this ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic)
  • Re: What tune for a group project?
    ... do Born to Run-- ... Even if we could make a deal with an individual owner ... the web site to make an exception to their no-copyright ... Public domain is definitely the way to go for this ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic)
  • Re: APT processor
    ... >I should have mentioned that CAM-I was a keeper of public domain ... Not AFAIK ... >I just checked and they still have a web site. ... >original algorithms used in machining contoured, sculptured surfaces". ...
    (alt.machines.cnc)
  • Re: Message
    ... >> server is sbs 2000. ... The web site is accessable outside ... AlsoAD DNS name is the ... same as the public domain name ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Starcade / Mike is correct: Too much stolen anime.
    ... which would already have been in public domain for a few years. ... supposedly to encourage creativity (how creative is ... Because the artists want them to? ... Under the current law, they still do, amazingly enough! ...
    (rec.arts.anime.misc)