Copyright

Forrest J Cavalier III forrest at mibsoftware.com
Thu Oct 24 15:32:09 UTC 2002


> > modifications, and distribute my own version, can I remove all instances of
> > "RedHat" ? 2. If I am allowed to, to what extent?
> 

The OSD allows licenses to prohibit that.  Some jurisdictions
may prohibit it.

As John Cowan noted separately, trademark law can require
the removal of trademarks. But a copyright notice is not
a trademark.

But the answers "does the law and license permit it" and
"should it be done" are probably different.

Of course no one "should" do that.  I think there are the obvious
ethical reasons.

I think there is an important practical consideration:

By removing all traces of the authorship, you will appear
to be the responsible party, and not a mere re-distributor
of the work.  That may result in legal liability you
didn't count on.  

You must be sure to communicate all license terms and
warranty disclaimers, and who is offering the license
and making the disclaimers.  Doing anything else is fraud
(usually illegal) or creates liability you don't want
to assume.
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