lynx-dev
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

LYNX-DEV Re: lynx, Wired, et alia (fwd)


From: Foteos Macrides
Subject: LYNX-DEV Re: lynx, Wired, et alia (fwd)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 17:35:07 -0500 (EST)

Mike Scher <address@hidden> wrote to me instead of lynx-dev:
[message appended]

        Thanks for the info.  I'm CCing this reply to the address@hidden
list, with your message appended.  You should use the list for any
questions or discussion about Lynx.  You need not be subscribed to post
messages, and can read replies via it's archive, accessible via the
Lynx online 'h'elp.

                                Fote

=========================================================================
 Foteos Macrides            Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research
 address@hidden         222 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
=========================================================================

Richard Stallman asked me to forward my comments on the manner in which
the Lynx 2.6 program displays the GPL notice :

        strange_> lynx -version
        
        Lynx Version 2.6
        (c)GNU General Public License


First, this is no slam or criticism of the program -- I use lynx
religiously, and Richard was really happy to hear it was being distributed
under GPL.  Nor is it an attack at all; we want (as you can see from
Richard's letter appended at the bottom) to lend a helpful thought or two.
So, on to the show: 

While one does not require a copyrighted item to bear copyright notice, if
you are going to do it, you should do it right.  The copyright should rest
in some person, company, organization -- some legal entity, that is, and
should have a year.  That you then subject the copyright to GPL licensing
(in effect creating a great irony, copyright effectively undone by using
copyright), becomes a public use license restricting the user to the terms
of the very nice GPL.  

Richard was, I think, worried that the banner as given might leave Lynx
less protected against re-copyrighting abuse than it might otherwise be. 
My reply to him is included in his reply to me (asking me to send this
on).  In short, the banner as given lists no one or organization that can
grant exceptions to the license, nor one with the right to sue for abuses
(like someone trying to copyright and market a Lynx derivative for their
own gain); the result is that a person could easily mislead someone into
reasonably thinking they had the power to grant such a waiver, and collect
some kind of fee.  The mislead person might then begin selling "Lynckz!"
for $150 a copy to large companies thinking he had a valid license to do
so.  The true holder of the Lynx copyright (UKans?), might be estopped
from pressing their claim under the copyright act since the product itself
was labeled in such a way as to facilitate the fraud worked against both
the lynx copyright holder and this person selling Lynckz.  

Other possible problems also come to mind; in any event, the copyright
holder should be listed, be it individual, corporation, organization, etc.
so long as it is a legal entity with the power to ask for enforcement of
the license and its copyright; if it's registered, the year of
registration should be listed as well.

Hope this helps a little in your grand efforts!

       -Mike

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 26 Oct 1996 11:00:05 -0400
From: Richard Stallman <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: lynx, et alia

      The
    exception granted might hold, though, since the copyright notice was
    formulated in such a way that someone could be mislead and rely on that
    misleading information.  It facilitates sneaky or misguided action.

Could you please inform the Lynx maintainers of this,
so that they can do the advantageous thing?


;
; To UNSUBSCRIBE:  Send a mail message to address@hidden
;                  with "unsubscribe lynx-dev" (without the
;                  quotation marks) on a line by itself.
;



reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]