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That's good, actually. The public domain doesn't apply everywhere, so a U.S. citizen licensing a public domain piece under a free software license allows people
by kick 7y ago
That's good, actually. The public domain doesn't apply everywhere, so a U.S. citizen licensing a public domain piece under a free software license allows people in countries with different approaches to the public domain to use it.
- incompatible 7y agoBut why would a license from Bruce Perens be valid? The copyright holder (from the point of view of a foreign country) would be the US government.
- zimpenfish 7y agoIf it's public domain, there is no copyright holder, no? https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/ https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/ > The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws (my emphasis)
- incompatible 7y agoYes, if it's public domain, there's no copyright holder, and it's impossible (and unnecessary) for anybody to license it. This is about the situation that the US government is not permitted to obtain copyrights for their own work in the US, but there's apparently nothing to stop it being copyrighted in other countries.
- h2odragon 7y agoYes, and Mr Perens is making a valid point here too. In such a way as to be regrettably easy to dismiss. I watched him instruct Linus Torvalds in how "the kernel project should be run" in 1998; he wasn't wrong but I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wanted to smack him rather than hear him out. I say this in deepest sympathy for the man, I'm similarly non-charming but much much more repellent.
- lallysingh 7y agoHe's an anchor holding open source firmly attached to the ground, not letting immediate passions (in this case, crypto) get us lost.