discuss: modifiability of docs: final decision
Subject:
Re: modifiability of docs: final decision
From:
Rick Moen ####@####.####
Date:
7 Mar 2005 18:47:25 -0000
Message-Id: <20050307184722.GG27314@linuxmafia.com>
Quoting Rahul Sundaram ####@####.####
> we can add public domain, BSD etc to the list of licenses.
Public domain declarations are problematic, ever since changes to the
world copyright regime implemented by the Berne Convention on Copyrights
(a treaty that has been adopted by almost all countries). This isn't
just my view: It's been expressed by OSI General Counsel Larry Rosen
and (with reservations) by Creative Commons co-founder Larry Lessig[1].
Essentially, it's no longer clear that public domain declarations will
have the intended effect. Even if they do, the effect may is likely to
differ between jurisdictions.
And, even at that, from the author's perspective, it's much smarter and
safer to use a simple permissive licence such as MIT/X or new-BSD --
because, why would you willingly risk being hauled into court on
warranty obligations for something you weren't even paid for?
More at: "Public Domain" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Licensing_and_Law/
[1] Lessig feels that CC's standardised public domain declaration at
least makes the owner's intentions absolutely clear to any court, and
thus minimises the legal uncertainties. However, after I pressed the
point about CC's page failing to advise users of those risks, he and his
Web maintainer agreed to post warnings about those risks as part of a
future site refresh.
