Re: [gNewSense-users] patents and copyright [was: live cd]

[Tor at Shared Genius]

Quiliro Ordóñez wrote:
> 2009/1/13 Eus <address@hidden 
> <mailto:address@hidden>>
>
>     Hi Ho!
>
>     --- On Tue, 1/13/09, Quiliro Ordóñez <address@hidden
>     <mailto:address@hidden>> wrote:
>
>     >  No it is not. Once software is free under a free license,
>     > whoever got it
>     > alwasys will have that part as free software. Whoever got
>     > it as nonfree
>     > without copyright would be able to at least execute and
>     > reverse engineer.
>     > Much better than before.....don't you think.
>
>     No, I don't think so. Reverse-engineering is much more difficult
>     than just compiling the source code.
>
>
> I agree on that. You still don't have the code when you have 
> copyright. There is no advantage for us to have copyright. It's a 
> disadvantage. If we elimintate copyright, at least we will advance one 
> step forward.
Which is exactly why we need copyright, but /only/ until we have other 
means of keeping software free.  Near as I can tell, the GPL and 
enforcement of it is the most significant reasons we are able to 
maintain software freedom once it is attained.  If there is no copyright 
anyone will be able to take a free program, make some changes, (perhaps 
only breaking changes, if it is a big company,) and release it binary 
only.  Since free software utilities have a habit of being the best 
quality tools, I think this issue could become a significant problem 
unless the ramifications of copyright changes are thought through.

How to fix this issue I am less sure of, however.  Although I don't care 
for government oversight, perhaps laws requiring /companies/ to maintain 
the source code of old releases, and release the /complete/ source 
(comments included) 3-5 years after release would be an intermediary 
step.  Of course ideal would be if non-free software could simply be 
banned:)

Either way, as an Artist, Musician, and Computer User, I absolutely 
agree that copyright is currently extremely excessive, and should at the 
very least be greatly decreased.

Tor