From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.4 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_50,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 1025b4,43ae7f61992b3213 X-Google-Attributes: gid1025b4,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,faf964ea4531e6af X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Ed Avis Subject: Re: GPL and "free" software Date: 1999/05/04 Message-ID: <372F36AB.55833EA6@doc.ic.ac.uk>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 473998378 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <7fibd5$jc7$1@news2.tor.accglobal.net> <372ADEED.D907754@doc.ic.ac.uk> <372E3B77.2E6EA08@iiinet.dhs.org> <372F2C65.4B7663C5@doc.ic.ac.uk> Organization: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,gnu.misc.discuss Date: 1999-05-04T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Barry Margolin wrote: >>I meant that something like: >> >>#define BUFFER_SIZE 1000 >>#define MAX_THINGIES 6 >> >>probably isn't copyrightable, especially once you strip away the names >>and are just left with the pair of integers '1000, 6'. >It certainly is copyrightable. The choice of names is a significant part >of programming. A header file that says: > >#define ASDFASDF 1000 >#define LKJLKJLK 6 > >is quite different from the above file. My point was, the only part of the header file which gets included in the final executable (or, indeed, in the .S file) is the two numbers 1000 and 6. So my header file and yours would give identical object code. I don't see how the number six can be copyrighted, except perhaps in relation to the Children's Television Workshop. >IANAL, so I don't know how much punishment could be exacted for infringing >the copyright of such a small amount of code, but I think it's *still* >copyright infringement, just as taking a 50-cent candy bar is still theft. I thought that very small snippets of code were not copyrighted. -- Ed Avis Advertise here! epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk