Copyright [cgf, please comment]

Suhaib Siddiqi ssiddiqi@inspirepharm.com
Thu May 31 12:41:00 GMT 2001


Harold

> > When I started this project (Cygwin/Xfree86) two years ago, 
> I assigned my
> > Copyright to Cygwin Solutions, which is now Red Hat.
> 

That is Cygnus solutions.


> I'm pretty sure the copyright assignment form that Cygwin 
> requests only
> applies to contributions to the Cygwin project.
> 
> In any case, your having filled out the form only has an 
> effect on what you
> write, not what anyone else writes :)

Not necessarily.  I m not a lawyer, but assignmentw as for project.


> 
> > The Source code changes to Xfree86 source tree were
> > transferred to Xfree86 Inc. under their license agreement.
> 
> Contributions to the XFree86 tree generally have the 
> copyright owned by the
> author of the file; you'd have to fill out some very strange 
> legal forms to
> assign XFree86 contributions to RedHat, and there isn't 
> really any reason to
> do so.


That goes to Xfree86 according to X license as I said :-)


> 
> Copyright of the changes I have made generally belong to 
> XFree86, though I
> really should have filled out some paperwork indicating this 
> transfer of
> copyright on the new files that I made.


Yes, my changes to source code belong to Xfree86 too


> 
> > However, other
> > material posted or contributed to this project, such as 
> Url, HTML pages,
> > User Guides and FAQ etc etc, authors retain Authorship, not 
> the Copyright.
> 
> That all depends on what the author chose to do with the 
> copyright when they
> wrote the works in question.  Posting a work on a RedHat 
> owned web server
> does not constitute a transfer of copyright, as copyright 
> transfer is a
> legal mechanism that requires formal paperwork.


Red Hat has the right to remove it.  That is what I had been told.
RedHat will give you authorship, but copyright you need to discuss 
with Chris Faylor directly.  If he allows I will leave everyones document
as it is.

> 
> For example, the Cygwin/XFree86 User's Guide and the 
> Cygwin/XFree86 FAQ
> (draft) both are copyrighted by Harold L Hunt II (me :).  


FAQ cannot be copyright by you.  I first wrote FAQ and Rob modified it.
Technically and legally there are several authors.  That is another question
we need to resolve peacfully through private communications :-)



> Furthermore, the
> GNU FDL that is contained in both documents is copyrighted by the Free
> Software Foundation; I really doubt that RMS would agree that 
> posting the
> FSF's FDL license on a web server constitues a transfer of 
> copyright :)
> 
> I chose to retain the copyright on my writings primarily because doing
> otherwise would require:
> 1) Finding an organization that wishes to vigorously defend 
> the copyright of
> the works I have produced
> 2) I can't just arbitrarily decide that the copyright on my 
> work belongs to
> someone else, 

Then do not post please without first clearing with people in-charge of the
project.
I follow the same Guidelines I do not post something which might raise
questions later.
In that case I consult with RedHat folks first to clarify and get
permission.


Your rest of the GFDL I leave as it is because I am not a legal expert to
answer
I know Cygwin and many software are GPL and copyright belong to RedHat and
respective companies.

Suhaib



>I have to sign legal paperwork in order for the 
> copyright
> transfer to hold up in court; failing to do so would likely 
> result in the
> works becoming public domain, which was not my original intention.
> 
> I should point out that public domain is undesireable because 
> it lacks the
> "copyleft" of the FDL which allows any future author to 
> modify my original
> works.  For example, Company Foo could modify a public domain 
> document, Baz,
> and they could prevent others from publishing or distributing those
> modifications.  Whereas the FDL forces any modifications of 
> the original
> work to be licensed under the FDL, ad infinitum.
> 
> I don't fully understand why this has been brought up at all? 
>  If it has
> anything to due with questions of what would happen should 
> the author of
> certain works become unavailable, then the answer is simple.  
> The FDL and X
> licenses allow everyone to do almost anything they wish with 
> the works that
> I have produced.  For example, the Cygwin/XFree86 User's Guide can be
> modified, printed, distributed on purple paper with white 
> polka dots, or
> disregarded entirely; all of these uses and more are 
> permitted by the FDL,
> regardless of what I think :)  Source code that I have 
> produced under the X
> license allows the previously mentioned freedoms plus the 
> ability to modify
> what I have done without releasing your modifications in 
> source code form.
> 
> Ownership of the copyright on works related to Cygwin/XFree86 only
> determines whom is obligated to prosecute offending parties 
> if the terms of
> the licenses covering the works are violated.
> 
> Harold
> 



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