3 ms·

Ah you misunderstand. All free software licenses grant you additional rights on top of copyright law. These rights allow you to make copies of the software giv

by chx 2y ago

Ah you misunderstand. All free software licenses grant you additional rights on top of copyright law. These rights allow you to make copies of the software given certain conditions. If you violate them then they do not apply and only copyright law applies so any copies you made are illegal.

BSDobelix 2y ago
>copyright law applies First that's not true and even if that would be only true in the US. Since the US is not THE "law" you cant say that. Also: >Under the current law, works created on or after January 1, 1978, have a copyright term of life of the author plus seventy years after the author's death. https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ So when Gates dies and i violate Microsofts License 7 years later i can have DOS 6.22 for free and redistribute it right?
- chx 2y ago
  Copyright law is universal under the Berne Convention and it prevents unlicensed duplicates of the software from legally being distributed. This is not US law, it's law everywhere, even the very few countries which are not signatories to the Berne Convention are signatories to TRIPS. Gates does not hold the copyright for MS DOS 6.22 and it's not 7 years but 70. But yes, eventually yes, see how Sherlock Holmes became public domain. For PC software in 2024 this is not yet relevant, the Berne minimum is death plus 50 and the IBM PC is not yet 50 years old.
  - BSDobelix 2y ago
    Hmm, thanks! I learned something today,
    - chx 2y ago
      Even some countries which can't enter these international conventions because they are not part of the UN/WIPO due to lack of wide diplomatic recognition have laws to honor copyright as prescribed in Berne, it's too important for international trade. For example, part of the Stabilization and Association Agreement the European Union made with Kosovo included IP laws including copyright. https://cps.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LAW_NO._04_L-065_ON_COPYRIGHT_AND_RELATED_RIGHTS.pdf https://cps.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LAW_NO._0...
- benchloftbrunch 2y ago
  Under US law, for works created by companies the term is a flat 95 years from publication, so MS-DOS 6.22 will become public domain on January 1 2090. You and I will likely be dead.
  - account42 2y ago
    Which is an atrocity. Depriving everyone of the ability to build on existing works until those works are ancient history is absurd and there is no way this is a good deal for society.

by chx 2y ago

BSDobelix 2y ago

>copyright law applies First that's not true and even if that would be only true in the US. Since the US is not THE "law" you cant say that. Also: >Under the current law, works created on or after January 1, 1978, have a copyright term of life of the author plus seventy years after the author's death. https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ So when Gates dies and i violate Microsofts License 7 years later i can have DOS 6.22 for free and redistribute it right?

chx 2y ago
Copyright law is universal under the Berne Convention and it prevents unlicensed duplicates of the software from legally being distributed. This is not US law, it's law everywhere, even the very few countries which are not signatories to the Berne Convention are signatories to TRIPS. Gates does not hold the copyright for MS DOS 6.22 and it's not 7 years but 70. But yes, eventually yes, see how Sherlock Holmes became public domain. For PC software in 2024 this is not yet relevant, the Berne minimum is death plus 50 and the IBM PC is not yet 50 years old.
- BSDobelix 2y ago
  Hmm, thanks! I learned something today,
  - chx 2y ago
    Even some countries which can't enter these international conventions because they are not part of the UN/WIPO due to lack of wide diplomatic recognition have laws to honor copyright as prescribed in Berne, it's too important for international trade. For example, part of the Stabilization and Association Agreement the European Union made with Kosovo included IP laws including copyright. https://cps.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LAW_NO._04_L-065_ON_COPYRIGHT_AND_RELATED_RIGHTS.pdf https://cps.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LAW_NO._0...
benchloftbrunch 2y ago
Under US law, for works created by companies the term is a flat 95 years from publication, so MS-DOS 6.22 will become public domain on January 1 2090. You and I will likely be dead.
- account42 2y ago
  Which is an atrocity. Depriving everyone of the ability to build on existing works until those works are ancient history is absurd and there is no way this is a good deal for society.