Get ready....

Arkin arkin at trendline.co.il
Thu Apr 15 04:11:18 UTC 1999


bruce at perens.com wrote:
> 
> From: Arkin <arkin at trendline.co.il>
> > Copyright was invented to cover literary work and protect the authors of
> > literary work. Legal documents are not literary works. There are so many
> > ways you can express the same contractual agreement. Thus, you may
> > freely copy all portions of the GPL that are strictly legal clauses.
> 
> That might be true in Israel, but not here.

This is true all over the world with only subtle differences. Copyright
laws are very similar between nations and automatically apply across
borders by international treaties.

> > The GPL is, however, subject to trademark restrictions
> 
> No, it is not. GPL is not a trademark. If you don't believe me, ask Richard
> Stallman.

The GPL is a trademark. It is not a registered trademark because it was
never registered. However, the mere fact that it is associated with a
specific license and known in its field makes it a trademark. This is
true in the US, as trademark are not shared internationally.

Arkin

> 
>         Bruce




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