Subject: Re: [lojban] jbofi'e version 0.36 released

From: John Cowan <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 18:45:41 -0500

Robert J. Chassell wrote:

> It is a different kind of license, what the games theory people call a
> `sucker license', such as the BSD license, that makes it possible for
> one company

hereinafter Badco

> to take Richard's work and prevent him and you and anyone
> else from using a derivation of Richard's work,

>From using a *specific* derivative of it, namely the one Badco wrote;
not from using *any* derivative of it. You can always do what
Stallman did with LMLisp: duplicate the changes yourself.

> even if you are the
> person making the changes and your changes are somewhat different from
> theirs and independently.

If your changes are different from theirs and made independently, then
your work cannot be a derivative work of Badco's.

> The BSD license does permit
> that: taking even from the author.

It does not permit taking the author's work from the author.

> And remember, if you ever get into this deeper, `derived work' is a
> legal term -- it means what courts say it means...

Indeed. No public license has yet had to face a court test.

-- 
There is / one art || John Cowan <[email-masked]>
no more / no less || http://www.reutershealth.com
to do / all things || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
with art- / lessness \\ -- Piet Hein