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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
It also should be noted we shouldn't have to inundate common people with
complex logical arguments about something as boring as copyright law.

Jimmy Wales was from Alabama, he had a thirst for knowledge. He studied
finance at Auburn University -- that's where options trading caught his
eyes. After a bout of that and Internet porn, he realized: he wanted to live
like common people; he wanted to live and drink with common people. So he
decided to dump a lot of money in a website -for- the common people because
he just liked it that much.

All in all, Wikipedia is for common people, and they'd prefer simple terms
like "free encyclopedia" than "GFDL general and specialized knowledge
provider licensed for free and educational use." Common people is what
Wikipedia is all about.

On 7/16/06, Ray Saintonge <saintonge@telus.net> wrote:
>
> Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
>
> >Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Ray Saintonge wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Anthony wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>On 7/14/06, Jeff V. Merkey <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>" ...Wikimedia doesn't transfer the ownership of anything, and there
> is no
> >>>>>rental, lease, or lending. But then again, by that definition
> >>>>>*nothing* distributed over the Internet is published, and I doubt a
> >>>>>court would agree with that...."
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Because of the way the GFDL works, ownership is transferred to every
> person
> >>>>>that receives it.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>Ownership of what? The ownership of copyright doesn't get
> >>>>transferred. Copies of the work don't get transferred. What gets
> >>>>transferred? Bits?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>I agree with you on this. GFDL is a licence, not a transfer of
> ownership.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>It transfers rights tantamount to ownership (all of this GNU crap does).
> >>And may qualify
> >>as a transfer of copyight since it conveys "RIGHT TO COPY" == COPYRIGHT.
> >>People just for some reason are not able to get this. Go read the
> licence. If
> >>you grant someone unlimited
> >>RIGHT TO COPY under the Doctrine of Esstoppel, after they do it for some
> >>period of time, it may qualify as a transfer of copyright.
> >>
> >>There is case law that backs up this view -- Copyrights can be
> >>transferred on the back of a bubble gum
> >>wrapper according to one ruling by the Circuit courts when you give
> >>someone UNLIMITED RIGHT TO COPY something.
> >>
> >What makes this position possibly valid is the fact people state the
> >content under such licenses is "FREE". When you say
> >something is FREE it implies a transaction or transfer occurred. "I did
> >not pay for this new hat, it was free and part of
> >a promotion, but it was given to me for FREE, and now it's MY PROPERTY".
> >I think you can see the logic. If folks
> >want to make claims they hold copyrights on materials under any of these
> >GNU licenses, the words "FREE" should not
> >be used and replaced with "LICENSED AT NO CHARGE FOR EDUCATIONAL
> >PURPOSES" and the words
> >"RIGHT TO COPY" replaced with "LICENSED UNDER THE TERMS."
> >
> >
> It's more subtle than that. It's free distribution not free contents.
> Free is an adjective, and as such does not stand in isolation. If
> someone gives you a new hat with a logo on it the right to reproduce the
> logo does not come with ownership of the hat. Intangible properties
> such as rights are not treated the same way as tangible properties such
> as hats.
>
> GFDL allows for downstream reuses by all persons, not just for
> educational purposes. It is also not an unconditional granting of
> rights. It requires users to pass those same conditions on to
> subsequent users, and provides that derivative works also be licensed in
> the same way. In simple terms a user who does not do this is in breach
> of license.
>
> Ec
>
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> foundation-l@wikimedia.org
> http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>
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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Ray Saintonge wrote:

>Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
>
>
>
>>Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>Ray Saintonge wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Anthony wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>On 7/14/06, Jeff V. Merkey <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>" ...Wikimedia doesn't transfer the ownership of anything, and there is no
>>>>>>rental, lease, or lending. But then again, by that definition
>>>>>>*nothing* distributed over the Internet is published, and I doubt a
>>>>>>court would agree with that...."
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Because of the way the GFDL works, ownership is transferred to every person
>>>>>>that receives it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>Ownership of what? The ownership of copyright doesn't get
>>>>>transferred. Copies of the work don't get transferred. What gets
>>>>>transferred? Bits?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>I agree with you on this. GFDL is a licence, not a transfer of ownership.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>It transfers rights tantamount to ownership (all of this GNU crap does).
>>>And may qualify
>>>as a transfer of copyight since it conveys "RIGHT TO COPY" == COPYRIGHT.
>>>People just for some reason are not able to get this. Go read the licence. If
>>>you grant someone unlimited
>>>RIGHT TO COPY under the Doctrine of Esstoppel, after they do it for some
>>>period of time, it may qualify as a transfer of copyright.
>>>
>>>There is case law that backs up this view -- Copyrights can be
>>>transferred on the back of a bubble gum
>>>wrapper according to one ruling by the Circuit courts when you give
>>>someone UNLIMITED RIGHT TO COPY something.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>What makes this position possibly valid is the fact people state the
>>content under such licenses is "FREE". When you say
>>something is FREE it implies a transaction or transfer occurred. "I did
>>not pay for this new hat, it was free and part of
>>a promotion, but it was given to me for FREE, and now it's MY PROPERTY".
>>I think you can see the logic. If folks
>>want to make claims they hold copyrights on materials under any of these
>>GNU licenses, the words "FREE" should not
>>be used and replaced with "LICENSED AT NO CHARGE FOR EDUCATIONAL
>>PURPOSES" and the words
>>"RIGHT TO COPY" replaced with "LICENSED UNDER THE TERMS."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>It's more subtle than that. It's free distribution not free contents.
>Free is an adjective, and as such does not stand in isolation. If
>someone gives you a new hat with a logo on it the right to reproduce the
>logo does not come with ownership of the hat. Intangible properties
>such as rights are not treated the same way as tangible properties such
>as hats.
>
>GFDL allows for downstream reuses by all persons, not just for
>educational purposes. It is also not an unconditional granting of
>rights. It requires users to pass those same conditions on to
>subsequent users, and provides that derivative works also be licensed in
>the same way. In simple terms a user who does not do this is in breach
>of license.
>
>Ec
>
>
The way it's worded in GPL2 (and GPL3) its ambiguous. I've also been
following the FSF and
their litigation strategy over the years, and to be honest they wilt
away like chaff in the wind
on a certain class of GPL violators -- big software companies who pinch
GPL code then use it.

They onyl go after folks with little or no litigation resources. I Think
they know if this thing got in front
of a court and someone bankrolled 20 mil into costs, it may not stand up
... just a theory.

Jeff

>_______________________________________________
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>foundation-l@wikimedia.org
>http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>
>
>

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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Right... we tell the people that our encyclopedia is free -- for use, and
for distribution. When they're interested in distribution -- that's when
they're basically asking for legal terminology.

On 7/17/06, Jeffrey V. Merkey <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
>
> James Hare wrote:
>
> >It also should be noted we shouldn't have to inundate common people with
> >complex logical arguments about something as boring as copyright law.
> >
> >Jimmy Wales was from Alabama, he had a thirst for knowledge. He studied
> >finance at Auburn University -- that's where options trading caught his
> >eyes. After a bout of that and Internet porn, he realized: he wanted to
> live
> >like common people; he wanted to live and drink with common people. So he
> >decided to dump a lot of money in a website -for- the common people
> because
> >he just liked it that much.
> >
> >All in all, Wikipedia is for common people, and they'd prefer simple
> terms
> >like "free encyclopedia" than "GFDL general and specialized knowledge
> >provider licensed for free and educational use." Common people is what
> >Wikipedia is all about.
> >
> >
> >
> I agree with all of this. "Free" is fine with me and I agree I don't
> think anyone cares
> about copyright issues on GFDL text.
>
> Jeff
> _______________________________________________
> foundation-l mailing list
> foundation-l@wikimedia.org
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>
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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
James Hare wrote:

>It also should be noted we shouldn't have to inundate common people with
>complex logical arguments about something as boring as copyright law.
>
>Jimmy Wales was from Alabama, he had a thirst for knowledge. He studied
>finance at Auburn University -- that's where options trading caught his
>eyes. After a bout of that and Internet porn, he realized: he wanted to live
>like common people; he wanted to live and drink with common people. So he
>decided to dump a lot of money in a website -for- the common people because
>he just liked it that much.
>
>All in all, Wikipedia is for common people, and they'd prefer simple terms
>like "free encyclopedia" than "GFDL general and specialized knowledge
>provider licensed for free and educational use." Common people is what
>Wikipedia is all about.
>
>
>
I agree with all of this. "Free" is fine with me and I agree I don't
think anyone cares
about copyright issues on GFDL text.

Jeff
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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
James Hare wrote:

>Right... we tell the people that our encyclopedia is free -- for use, and
>for distribution. When they're interested in distribution -- that's when
>they're basically asking for legal terminology.
>
>
Well, I am distributing it, and making lots of money off of it promoting
it, and I am keeping it free (the knowledge
and software part, anyway -- hardware always costs money). :-)

Jeff

>On 7/17/06, Jeffrey V. Merkey <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
>
>
>>James Hare wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>It also should be noted we shouldn't have to inundate common people with
>>>complex logical arguments about something as boring as copyright law.
>>>
>>>Jimmy Wales was from Alabama, he had a thirst for knowledge. He studied
>>>finance at Auburn University -- that's where options trading caught his
>>>eyes. After a bout of that and Internet porn, he realized: he wanted to
>>>
>>>
>>live
>>
>>
>>>like common people; he wanted to live and drink with common people. So he
>>>decided to dump a lot of money in a website -for- the common people
>>>
>>>
>>because
>>
>>
>>>he just liked it that much.
>>>
>>>All in all, Wikipedia is for common people, and they'd prefer simple
>>>
>>>
>>terms
>>
>>
>>>like "free encyclopedia" than "GFDL general and specialized knowledge
>>>provider licensed for free and educational use." Common people is what
>>>Wikipedia is all about.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>I agree with all of this. "Free" is fine with me and I agree I don't
>>think anyone cares
>>about copyright issues on GFDL text.
>>
>>Jeff
>>_______________________________________________
>>foundation-l mailing list
>>foundation-l@wikimedia.org
>>http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>>
>>
>>
>_______________________________________________
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>
>
>

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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:

>The way it's worded in GPL2 (and GPL3) its ambiguous. I've also been
>following the FSF and
>their litigation strategy over the years, and to be honest they wilt
>away like chaff in the wind
>on a certain class of GPL violators -- big software companies who pinch
>GPL code then use it.
>
>They onyl go after folks with little or no litigation resources. I Think
>they know if this thing got in front
>of a court and someone bankrolled 20 mil into costs, it may not stand up
>... just a theory.
>
>
>
A few points to note here.... The biggest known "abuser" of GPL'd
software is Tivo (the set-top real-time video recorder). The company
openly admits to be using Linux as the OS for their products but doesn't
give copies of "modified" software they have been using within the
devices that they sell. The problem here is, are they selling devices
that happen to have GPL'd software "embedded" in the device, not
re-selling software. The GPL is ambiguous if this is even a violation,
and other companies that you are talking about also view pinching GPL'd
code under the same light. I guess this is one of the "classes" of
violators you are talking about. Some of this is also a mistaken belief
that the GPL requires "giving back to the community" any changes to
software that you make. It does not, and Tivo has decided to keep their
changes as trade secrets.

The other known major abuser of copyleft software was none other than
Microsoft itself, who copied the TCP/IP software from BSD Unix for the
Windows NT operating system network routines. The problem here is that
it was not the GPL, but rather the BSD license that this software was
released under, and the FSF has no copyright claim on any of these
routines either.

BTW, the exact opposite view is sometimes applied, where you will not be
hired by some software development groups if you have ever been exposed
to GPL'd software source code. The reason is that they don't want to
have their software "contaminated" by GPL'd software specifically
because they don't want to deal with the viral nature of the GPL and
being forced to release all of their software under the GPL.

Of course the most famous court case for testing the GPL is SCO vs. IBM,
where it was originally seen as a major test of the GPL (with IBM
backing of the GPL in a weird twist of events). Instead it looks as if
the case is going to spin into a stock fraud case and turn from civil
litigation into a criminal matter. Where the SEC will take this, I'm
not sure, but I'm certain that the GPL will be the least of the problems
for the CEO of SCO. This case did air out some of the legal issues
regarding the GPL in court and did deal with many copyleft issues in
general, but it doesn't look like the GPL will be significant for any
precedence to use this case in future GPL-related litigation.

I'm curious what other major copyright violators of the GPL that you are
talking about that the FSF didn't litigate against? The real issue that
the FSF has been facing is that major violators of the GPL havn't
necessarily been violating the use of GNU/Hurd software or anything else
with a copyright claim by the FSF. I guess this is another "class" of
GPL violations, but if they don't have a copyright claim, the FSF can't
really file as a plaintiff and enforce the copyright. There is also the
issue of statutory vs. actual damage claims that I raised earlier that
also apply to software under the GPL, making even a positive judgement
(for the GPL) something that is essentially a moot point and effectively
unenforcable.

--
Robert Scott Horning



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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Robert Scott Horning wrote:

>Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
>
>
>
>>The way it's worded in GPL2 (and GPL3) its ambiguous. I've also been
>>following the FSF and
>>their litigation strategy over the years, and to be honest they wilt
>>away like chaff in the wind
>>on a certain class of GPL violators -- big software companies who pinch
>>GPL code then use it.
>>
>>They onyl go after folks with little or no litigation resources. I Think
>>they know if this thing got in front
>>of a court and someone bankrolled 20 mil into costs, it may not stand up
>>... just a theory.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>A few points to note here.... The biggest known "abuser" of GPL'd
>software is Tivo (the set-top real-time video recorder). The company
>openly admits to be using Linux as the OS for their products but doesn't
>give copies of "modified" software they have been using within the
>devices that they sell. The problem here is, are they selling devices
>that happen to have GPL'd software "embedded" in the device, not
>re-selling software. The GPL is ambiguous if this is even a violation,
>and other companies that you are talking about also view pinching GPL'd
>code under the same light. I guess this is one of the "classes" of
>violators you are talking about. Some of this is also a mistaken belief
>that the GPL requires "giving back to the community" any changes to
>software that you make. It does not, and Tivo has decided to keep their
>changes as trade secrets.
>
>The other known major abuser of copyleft software was none other than
>Microsoft itself, who copied the TCP/IP software from BSD Unix for the
>Windows NT operating system network routines. The problem here is that
>it was not the GPL, but rather the BSD license that this software was
>released under, and the FSF has no copyright claim on any of these
>routines either.
>
>BTW, the exact opposite view is sometimes applied, where you will not be
>hired by some software development groups if you have ever been exposed
>to GPL'd software source code. The reason is that they don't want to
>have their software "contaminated" by GPL'd software specifically
>because they don't want to deal with the viral nature of the GPL and
>being forced to release all of their software under the GPL.
>
>Of course the most famous court case for testing the GPL is SCO vs. IBM,
>where it was originally seen as a major test of the GPL (with IBM
>backing of the GPL in a weird twist of events). Instead it looks as if
>the case is going to spin into a stock fraud case and turn from civil
>litigation into a criminal matter. Where the SEC will take this, I'm
>not sure, but I'm certain that the GPL will be the least of the problems
>for the CEO of SCO. This case did air out some of the legal issues
>regarding the GPL in court and did deal with many copyleft issues in
>general, but it doesn't look like the GPL will be significant for any
>precedence to use this case in future GPL-related litigation.
>
>I'm curious what other major copyright violators of the GPL that you are
>talking about that the FSF didn't litigate against? The real issue that
>the FSF has been facing is that major violators of the GPL havn't
>necessarily been violating the use of GNU/Hurd software or anything else
>with a copyright claim by the FSF. I guess this is another "class" of
>GPL violations, but if they don't have a copyright claim, the FSF can't
>really file as a plaintiff and enforce the copyright. There is also the
>issue of statutory vs. actual damage claims that I raised earlier that
>also apply to software under the GPL, making even a positive judgement
>(for the GPL) something that is essentially a moot point and effectively
>unenforcable.
>
>
>
Novell, Microsoft, and HP.

Jeff
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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Robert Scott Horning wrote:

>Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:
>
>
>>The way it's worded in GPL2 (and GPL3) its ambiguous. I've also been
>>following the FSF and
>>their litigation strategy over the years, and to be honest they wilt
>>away like chaff in the wind
>>on a certain class of GPL violators -- big software companies who pinch
>>GPL code then use it.
>>
>>They onyl go after folks with little or no litigation resources. I Think
>>they know if this thing got in front
>>of a court and someone bankrolled 20 mil into costs, it may not stand up
>>... just a theory.
>>
I'm sure that there's a strong element of truth to this. In the long
run tactics analogous to guerilla warfare tend to be more effective
against massive power.

>Of course the most famous court case for testing the GPL is SCO vs. IBM,
>where it was originally seen as a major test of the GPL (with IBM
>backing of the GPL in a weird twist of events). Instead it looks as if
>the case is going to spin into a stock fraud case and turn from civil
>litigation into a criminal matter. Where the SEC will take this, I'm
>not sure, but I'm certain that the GPL will be the least of the problems
>for the CEO of SCO. This case did air out some of the legal issues
>regarding the GPL in court and did deal with many copyleft issues in
>general, but it doesn't look like the GPL will be significant for any
>precedence to use this case in future GPL-related litigation.
>
Sigh! Stock fraud, the refuge of high quality scoundrels.

>I'm curious what other major copyright violators of the GPL that you are
>talking about that the FSF didn't litigate against? The real issue that
>the FSF has been facing is that major violators of the GPL havn't
>necessarily been violating the use of GNU/Hurd software or anything else
>with a copyright claim by the FSF. I guess this is another "class" of
>GPL violations, but if they don't have a copyright claim, the FSF can't
>really file as a plaintiff and enforce the copyright. There is also the
>issue of statutory vs. actual damage claims that I raised earlier that
>also apply to software under the GPL, making even a positive judgement
>(for the GPL) something that is essentially a moot point and effectively
>unenforcable.
>
I agree, and GFDL hasn't been touched at all. For the most part I think
that the strategic thinking necessary for dealing with these complex
issues is missing from WMF. This is unfortunate because vested
interests are going to fight like hell to maintain their advantages,
even as the underlying social fabric of copyright is changing. In the
nearly three centuries since Queen Anne's Law the ones who have had the
ears of the politicians have been the ones who stood to do well with
improved protections. For most of that time those who would benefit
from any different were mostly scattered, and never in any position to
mount an effective lobby.

Perhaps WMF's greatest disadvantage is that it has become so big. Being
big can mean having more to lose in a knock down legal street scrap.

Ec

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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
Jeffrey V. Merkey wrote:

> "Free" is fine with me and I agree I don't
>think anyone cares
>about copyright issues on GFDL text.
>
I wouldn't be so sure of that.

Ec

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Re: re GFDL publisher credit [ In reply to ]
James Hare wrote:

>It also should be noted we shouldn't have to inundate common people with
>complex logical arguments about something as boring as copyright law.
>
I don't find it boring.

>Jimmy Wales was from Alabama, he had a thirst for knowledge. He studied
>finance at Auburn University -- that's where options trading caught his
>eyes. After a bout of that and Internet porn, he realized: he wanted to live
>like common people; he wanted to live and drink with common people. So he
>decided to dump a lot of money in a website -for- the common people because
>he just liked it that much.
>
Bringing all the bio stuff up says more about you than about him.

>All in all, Wikipedia is for common people, and they'd prefer simple terms
>like "free encyclopedia" than "GFDL general and specialized knowledge
>provider licensed for free and educational use." Common people is what
>Wikipedia is all about.
>
That's very pious of you.

We still need to Free the Law.

Ec

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