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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,cf2bc42267320085 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-05-17 15:56:09 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!212.74.64.35!colt.net!news-x2.support.nl!peer.news.zetnet.net!psiuk-p2!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: Copyright preambles in the sources Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 09:24:10 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1021641851 9386 136.170.200.133 (17 May 2002 13:24:11 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 17 May 2002 13:24:11 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:24317 Date: 2002-05-17T13:24:11+00:00 List-Id: The laws will vary from one country to another, so there's no absolute answer to the question. I'm sure you've heard that copyright exists even if you don't have a notice in the code. (Don't know how it would apply in Russia or any other country outside of the U.S. Check with a lawyer.) The typical reason for putting the notice into each module/file is that you don't know if one of those files is going to get separated from the rest of the work and you want to provide as much protection as you can for your work. If you don't care that anyone coppies your work, uses it to make money, claims it as their own, etc., then don't bother with any notices. If you *do* care, adding the notice to every module is a way of making sure that people know it is your work and you wish to retain rights to it. The legal aspects are one thing, but consider the practical aspects as well. Most people upon seeing the notice will be inclined to be honest and respectful of your rights & perhaps contact you if they wish to make copies for some purpose. That's a good thing, so even if it doesn't need to be there legally, it helps in a practical way. Remember that regardless of what the law says, street rules always apply. :-) MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com "Alexandre E. Kopilovitch" wrote in message news:mailman.1021590843.18249.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org... > Here was plenty of talk about the copyright issues from the user's viewpoint, > but just now I faced a copyright issue as a developer, and need an advice or > some explanation. > I constantly see in various sources a "copyright preamble". Although I fully > respect the author's rights to put any comments into the sources, I deeply > distaste those "copyright preambles" inside each source file. Therefore I wish > to avoid such a practice in my own sources. But being substantially foreing > to the whole Copyright/Patent/Intellectual_Property world (because of Soviet > background), I don't understand why those preambles are so widespreading. > why they appear even in the obviously non-commercial packages. And I fear to > violate a rule when I don't feel the reason for it -;) . > So, why you, independent non-commercial developers, put the "copyright > preambles" at the beginning of each file of the distributions? Is it a necessary > thing? What dangers I invite if I do not include that preambles in each source > file, but simply include a separate "copyright notice" file into the distribution? > > > Alexander Kopilovitch aek@vib.usr.pu.ru > Saint-Petersburg > Russia >