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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c887193050c097ce X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-02-11 16:47:49 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!out.nntp.be!propagator-SanJose!in.nntp.be!news-in-sanjose!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-p3!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Problem with GNAT modified GPL and SourceForge Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 10:07:35 -0500 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: References: <3C625604.1C948A06@gmx.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1013440056 23216 136.170.200.133 (11 Feb 2002 15:07:36 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 11 Feb 2002 15:07:36 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:19890 Date: 2002-02-11T15:07:36+00:00 List-Id: Be careful about the term "public domain" because that means something different than simply making source code available to the public. "Public Domain" would mean a work for which the copyright had expired or was voluntarily surrendered. An example would be the works of Shakespear. (O.K., I have not actually checked, but it would be a good bet that there are no heirs of Shakespear still around renewing copyrights on his works. And I think there's some maximum number of years a copyright can be renewed anyway - 99 years? - so its a good bet this stuff has slipped into the Public Domain. :-) Anybody is free to make and sell - or give away - copies of Shakespear's "Hamlet" provided that they make copies from a public domain source. (Once you put it into a book of your own though, you can have a copyright on that instance of "Hamlet" so photocopying your book and redistributing it would be a violation. But that's another story.) So while source code might be made freely available to the public, that doesn't necessarily mean that the copyright has been surrendered and that there may not be conditions on its use & redistribution. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Preben Randhol" wrote in message news:slrna6a6n3.q8.randhol+abuse@kiuk0156.chembio.ntnu.no... > > Yes the GPL is Proprietarian in the sense that it requires the code and > derivative code to be in the "public domain". Wheras Microsofts license > is Proprietarian in the sense to keep the code out of the "public domain". > At least this is how I see it. >