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In Germany there is no such thing as public domain for software copyright AFAIK. So the licensing could be an issue for professional usage.

by domano 6y ago

ketzu 6y ago
Edgecases like this is probably why they include the "Unlicencse" license. Afaik, while (edit: In Germany) you cannot actively void your rights on a project (i.e., what they call the public domain model here) you can license it similarly (e.g., via CC0 and possibly the "Unlicense").
- cyphar 6y ago
  CC0 is much more thorough than the Unlicense, was written by actual lawyers, and has a fallback to a maximally-permissive license in jurisdictions where willing relinquishment of copyrights into the public domain doesn't exist. Unlicense doesn't have any of these properties so it really should be strongly avoided when choosing a license for a project -- there's no benefit to using it over CC0 and several potential (though admittedly theoretical) downsides. The Unlicense website also incorrectly states that "CC0 is not intended for software" -- while the other CC licensed aren't good choices for software, CC0 most definitely is intended to be used for software as much as any other copyrightable work.
tomtomtom777 6y ago
Interesting. It's not the first time I hear about problems with Public Domain, but I wonder what this means in practice. Are there any issues in Germany with professional usage of common Public Domain software like Sqlite?
these_are_not_t 6y ago
Are you saying that there's no copyright expiration in Germany? Or what would become the license at that point?
- ufo 6y ago
  In Germany a work can only enter the public domain after the copyright expires. The author is not allowed to waive their copyright and intentionally put their work in the public domain before that. If you want to make something available without restrictions you have to grant people a license to your copyrighted work.
  - beervirus 6y ago
    How strange. Is there any practical difference between waiving your copyright and granting everyone an unrestricted license?
    - ufo 6y ago
      One of the things that is different is the matter of Moral Rights such as the right to be attributed as the author of the copyrighted work. In some jurisdictions those rights cannot be waived. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights
  - Isthatablackgsd 6y ago
    Could you explain why Germany does not allow German to waive their copyright? I couldn't find the information about this.
    - ufo 6y ago
      One of the sticking points is that some countries do not allow the author to waive the Moral Rights over a work that they have produced. https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/1371/how-can-i-place-software-in-the-public-domain https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/1371/how-can-...

In Germany there is no such thing as public domain for software copyright AFAIK. So the licensing could be an issue for professional usage.

by domano 6y ago

In Germany there is no such thing as public domain for software copyright AFAIK. So the licensing could be an issue for professional usage.

ketzu 6y ago

Edgecases like this is probably why they include the "Unlicencse" license. Afaik, while (edit: In Germany) you cannot actively void your rights on a project (i.e., what they call the public domain model here) you can license it similarly (e.g., via CC0 and possibly the "Unlicense").

cyphar 6y ago
CC0 is much more thorough than the Unlicense, was written by actual lawyers, and has a fallback to a maximally-permissive license in jurisdictions where willing relinquishment of copyrights into the public domain doesn't exist. Unlicense doesn't have any of these properties so it really should be strongly avoided when choosing a license for a project -- there's no benefit to using it over CC0 and several potential (though admittedly theoretical) downsides. The Unlicense website also incorrectly states that "CC0 is not intended for software" -- while the other CC licensed aren't good choices for software, CC0 most definitely is intended to be used for software as much as any other copyrightable work.

tomtomtom777 6y ago

Interesting. It's not the first time I hear about problems with Public Domain, but I wonder what this means in practice. Are there any issues in Germany with professional usage of common Public Domain software like Sqlite?

these_are_not_t 6y ago

Are you saying that there's no copyright expiration in Germany? Or what would become the license at that point?

ufo 6y ago
In Germany a work can only enter the public domain after the copyright expires. The author is not allowed to waive their copyright and intentionally put their work in the public domain before that. If you want to make something available without restrictions you have to grant people a license to your copyrighted work.
- beervirus 6y ago
  How strange. Is there any practical difference between waiving your copyright and granting everyone an unrestricted license?
  - ufo 6y ago
    One of the things that is different is the matter of Moral Rights such as the right to be attributed as the author of the copyrighted work. In some jurisdictions those rights cannot be waived. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights
- Isthatablackgsd 6y ago
  Could you explain why Germany does not allow German to waive their copyright? I couldn't find the information about this.
  - ufo 6y ago
    One of the sticking points is that some countries do not allow the author to waive the Moral Rights over a work that they have produced. https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/1371/how-can-i-place-software-in-the-public-domain https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/1371/how-can-...