Copyright [cgf, please comment]

Harold Hunt huntharo@msu.edu
Thu May 31 13:06:00 GMT 2001


> > 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.

I'm not a lawyer either, but I really doubt that your signing a document
several years ago has any application to my actions :)  Really, there is no
way that your having filled out the copyright assignment form could apply to
my works.  You'd have to have my power of attorney in order to sign away the
rights on my works, and last I checked, we haven't made any such
arrangements :)

> > > 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.

We did discuss it with Chris Faylor:
http://xfree86.cygwin.com/ml/cygwin-xfree/2000-q3/msg00459.html

He said he had no problem with uploading the Cygwin/XFre86 User's Guide
because it was distributed under the GNU FDL.

> > 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 :-)

I most definitely do NOT own the copyright on the FAQ located at:
http://xfree86.cygwin.com/faq.html

I never claimed to own the copyright on that document, please carefully
re-read my original statement of which works I own the copyright on.

The copyright for that page is most likely held by RedHat, through your
prior arrangements with them.  However, there is no copyright notice on the
aforementioned page, so a court might declare (in an unlikely event that
someone would bring the FAQ before a court, lol) that it has become public
domain :(

I was very careful to mention that I own the copyright on the Cygwin/XFree86
FAQ (draft, herein refereed to as 'draft FAQ'), not on the FAQ located at
the address given above.  I was very careful to ensure that all of the
writing in the draft FAQ was my own, as the lack of a license or copyright
on the original FAQ made me kind of nervous :)  The lack of a license and
copyright on the original FAQ makes up part of the reason why I did not
immediately rewrite all of the questions that were present in the original
FAQ.  I can read a document, and I can write something on a similar topic to
a document that I have read, but I have to make sure that everything I write
is distinct from the original document and is written in my own words
(unless I cite a passage from the original document).

Trust me, I thought about all of these questions way before I ever started
writing the draft FAQ.  :)

> 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.

Yup, Chris Faylor already gave his blessing (same link as above):
http://xfree86.cygwin.com/ml/cygwin-xfree/2000-q3/msg00459.html

> 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.

That is because RedHat, and other companies, want to be able to defend the
works that they license for other people to use, and they also want to be
able to distribute those works under less restrictive, or even closed-source
licenses, as a revenue generating activity.  RedHat has to own the copyright
on *every* contribution to Cygwin so that they may distribute under other
licenses.  However, RedHat does not need to own the copyright on my
documentation, as they will never distribute it under any other license than
the GNU FDL.  Furthermore, my assigning the copyright on my works to RedHat
could open them up to litigation, for they would be the ones hauled into
court if one of my documents was ever accused of breaking someone else's
copyright.  I'd much rather keep the copyright with myself and bear the
legal burden on my own :)

The GNU FDL is to documentation what the GNU GPL is to source code.

Harold



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