[License-discuss] Can copyrights be abandoned to the public domain?

[Russ Nelson]

John Cowan writes:
 > Russ Nelson scripsit:
 > 
 > > And yet we know that bridges collapse. Is it reasonable to take steps
 > > against bridges collapsing? We (mostly) don't build bridges out of
 > > wood (software from moral rights countries), but instead out of steel
 > > and concrete (countries where people cannot retroactively change the
 > > license on open source software).
 > 
 > Has anyone tried to revoke their (or their predecessor's) license
 > and lost in court?

That's something different. I know that there's a theory which says
that copyright permissions, even if granted "irrevokably", can be
withdrawn. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about
moral rights, where you can put something under an open source license
which (at least in our theory) allow changes without limit and yet the
law of the country where moral rights exist allows the copyright
holder to *prohibit* changes without limit.

I hear a lot of whistling past the graveyard here. As people point
out, it's never happened yet, and so it never will happen. Not a cause
for concern; move along, nothing to see here.

-- 
--my blog is at    http://blog.russnelson.com
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