Georg Bauhaus <rm-host.bauhaus@maps.arcor.de> wrote:

> "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de> wrote:
> > On Mon, 28 May 2012 13:36:53 +0200, J-P. Rosen wrote:
> > 
> >> Le 28/05/2012 12:08, Dmitry A. Kazakov a écrit :
> >>> This release is packaged for Windows, Fedora (yum) and Debian (apt). The
> >>> software is public domain (licensed under GM GPL).
> >> Just to be picky: if it's licensed under GMGPL, it's free software, but
> >> it's not public domain. Public domain means that you give up all your
> >> intellectual rights (possibly allowing someone to take your work and
> >> putting a restrictive license upon it).
> > 
> > I thought GMGPL allowed derivative works to be restricted as anybody
> > wanted?
> 
> The exception says it applies to instances of the given work.
> LGPL sounds different.
> 
> In fact, it is not possible to give up originators rights under
> German law. If authors publish a work, the connection with
> their work cannot normally be removed. They may give rights to use
> their work, though, within bounds imposed by overruling law
> as usual.
> 
> There is no public domain (US style) in continental
> Europe, TTBOMK. (The same term may mean something 
> different in the UK, IIRC.)

Even more reason to use an accepted free software license like BSD or MIT,
if your intent is to share your code openly and still retain the copyright.