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From: Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Problem with GNAT modified GPL and SourceForge
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 18:37:16 +0100
Organization: Centre for Chaos and Turbulence Studies, Niels Bohr Institute
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Date: 2002-02-11T18:37:16+01:00
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[ I am not a lawyer, not a native English speaker, so the
  comment below may have to be taken with a grain of salt. ]

David Starner wrote:

> On Sun, 10 Feb 2002 12:07:28 +0000 (UTC), Georg Bauhaus <sb463ba@l1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> wrote:

> > Perhaps one should add that, if this applies, it applies to
> > works when the laws of the US of America apply.
> 
> Huh? Why? If code has been placed in the public domain in the US, it's
> probably been placed in the public domain everywhere. There's not much
> code that's in the public domain because of obscure US legal reasons.

EU copyright law has what is effectively a ban on "public
domain".  The creator of a work will always have copyright
to it (in the sense "the right to have his/her name on the
work and people not changing it without asking him/her") and
this right can not be sold or in any other way given away. 
But laws and similar works are not covered by copyright.

Jacob
-- 
"han skriver det aldrig s� ondt som det er ment"