Copyright

[John Cowan]

Ken Brown scripsit:

> Ok John...I give up.

You just beat me to it.

> You insist that you can own something 100% and
> relinquish 100% control at the same time.  There is not a single legal
> precedent for this anywhere.

Tell it to the FSF Marines.

> So you and I will just have to disagree.  You
> cannot surrender rights to modify and distribute  something you have a
> copyright protected, and then turn around and expect all of its privileges.

Waiving rights is not the same as surrendering them.

> I agree with Sujita, if I GPL my software called "kb-library" I would not be
> surprised to expect someone to be selling it as their own with a name
> change, etc.  I would expect it to be GPL of course,

You have an enforceable right to so expect.  No one else has such an
enforceable right.

> and maybe the author
> will give me credit. But the hell with credit, the GPL gives an individual
> the legal right to sell my idea as their own.

Ideas?  *boggle*

Ideas have nothing to do with copyright.

> In the end, a court would
> challenge my claim to "rights" for the product because my transaction will
> not be able to meet any key thresholds of an author's demand for copyright
> law protection.

Nonsense.

> Particularly when the license has such vague restrictions
> for derivative works.

Nothing vague about it.  You, sir, are a Bourbon: you have learned nothing
and forgotten nothing.  We know who pays your bills and why.

-- 
John Cowan   jcowan at reutershealth.com   http://www.reutershealth.com
    "Mr. Lane, if you ever wish anything that I can do, all you will have
        to do will be to send me a telegram asking and it will be done."
    "Mr. Hearst, if you ever get a telegram from me asking you to do
        anything, you can put the telegram down as a forgery."
--
license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3