🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <12158@watnot.UUCP> ccplumb@watnot.UUCP (Colin Plumb) writes:
>I'm not sure that a copyright needs to be protecting financial interests.

Last night, here at U of W, there was a lecture given by a rather knowledgable
lawyer on topics relating to software.  Most of the lecture was related to an 
engineers liablility with respect to the use, and design of software, but
he also spoke about software protection.

During the software protection part of the talk I posed exactly the question
under discussion here to him.  He said "The copyright would still be valid 
even on a piece of freely distibutable software."  Basically the copyright
gives the owner the power of dictating who, and under what terms a piece
of intellectual property (most commonly in written form. Canada's copyright
laws don't specifically mention software YET.) can be reproduced/distributed.
This means that if someone wants to copy a PD program, unless it contains
a notice saying that anyone can copy it, then, theoretically, it would still
be necessary to get the author's permission.  

Another way of stating this is that as well as a copyright notice, PD software
should list the allowable terms of distribution, in addition to a copyright
notice.  Otherwise nobody is really alowed to copy/distribute it legally.

This seemed to make good sense to me.

Mike Wingrove
C. C. N. G.
Dept of Elec. Eng.
U of Waterloo