From - Tue Jan 07 14:43:36 1997 X-Sender: cherlin@snowcrest.net Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <199701050934.EAA24608@access2.digex.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 12:51:31 -0800 To: Logical Language Group From: Edward Cherlin Subject: Re: Lojban Final Baseline - Preliminary Announcement Cc: cowan@ccil.org X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2030 >>I'm sure that this has been thrashed over before, but I would like some >>clarification. What do you mean by putting the language and the language >>design in the public domain? > > >Basically that we retain no private intellectual property rights in the >language at all. [lots of good reasons for allowing unrestricted public access snipped] >lojbab Yes, I agree that we should allow full access, and place no limits on usage. However, I still think we will have to retain copyright. Any commercial publisher will insist on copyright. That has no effect on usage of the language in writing or speaking. I think that it would be a good idea not to allow changes to the documents during the baseline period, other than for private study purposes. We don't want the confusion of competing versions for a while. If Lojban is established as a real language in five years, we can remove all restrictions. But we should still keep copyright on the texts, even while distributing them freely electronically. If you have a copyright, it gives you specific rights which you can transfer separately or in bundles to others separately or in groups. You can give away as much of the copyright as you like. If you put a work into the public domain, you lose all control. This is a separate issue from letting people use the language freely. I have done what I am recommending to you on my Web site, where I tell people that they can download as much as they want, but that they have to ask my permission to make changes or sell copies, or even to give it away in quantity. I do this an part to keep control of commercial rights, and in part so that I can insist on people only giving away the latest version. -- Edward Cherlin Ask. Someone knows. cherlin@newbie.net Vice President Everything should be made as simple as possible, NewbieNet, Inc. __but no simpler__. Albert Einstein http://www.newbie.net/Mentors/Cherlin/Newbie_Pages/new39.html (Spam)