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A more charitable reading takes this quote to highlight the disconnect between what people expect to do with things (recipes), and what is actually allowed lega
by rhn_mk1 7y ago
A more charitable reading takes this quote to highlight the disconnect between what people expect to do with things (recipes), and what is actually allowed legally.
If you told someone they can't legally copy their neighbor's or grandparent's recipe, or heck, even one from a random website, they'd be very surprised, because this is what's actually happening.
Now, with this reality in mind, Stallman's argument makes a lot more sense and reaches the conclusion: software resembles recipes in practice, but the law is incongruent with this practice.
- habitue 7y agoThere is actually a legal difference though (at least in the US) recipes can't be copyrighted, and software can be
- tsimionescu 7y agoThe law about copyright on recipes is more complex. Certain kinds of recipes (e.g. ones where the description of the steps is somewhat lyrical) are probably copyright-able, and so are collections of recipes, such as cookbooks. Photographs accompanying recipes are also copyrighted, so if you explain your recipe in pictures or video, that is also copyrighted.