🚀 go-pugleaf

This is a response to a note that advocated placing software in the public
domain instead of copyrighting it.

I think the fundamental question is whether you want to take an active role in
changing how society supports the software development process or whether you
favor neutrality.

If you agree that the current for-profit process discourages cooperation
(thereby stifling progress) and encourages short-term software planning
(thereby weakening computer companies), you will want to take a more active
role than merely finding ways to release your software into the public domain.

An easy and effective way to do this is to copyright your software creations
(where doing so does not violate agreements you may have with your employer)
thereby retaining your legal rights concerning how your software is to be
reproduced.  You can specify that free copying is allowed except for profit.

By actively using your copyright protection, you can help change the current
situation in which companies waste valuable programming time and energy
developing the same software (with local variants) in parallel.  You can take
an active role in helping to make software development a more public process
and increase its quality and functionality through an increase in cooperation
between companies.


Here is the copyright notice that I use on software I write outside of company
time (changing the comment convention as needed):

; --------------------------------------------------------------------
; Copyright (c) 1989 David Spector
; This software may be used, copied, and modified freely, except not
; as part of a product sold for profit, so long as these four copyright
; lines are retained without change.  There is no warranty of any kind.
; --------------------------------------------------------------------



The above is my opinion, not that of my employer or the Free Software
Foundation.

David Spector
Prime Computer, Inc.
ds@primerd.prime.com (until the layoff)