Updating copyright years (was Re: [gnus git] branch master updated: n0-17-447-g55c26cf =1= Add 2012 to FSF copyright years for Emacs files.)

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Katsumi Yamaoka writes:

Hi, Katsumi!

 > I used to feel Emacs' way strange.  Maybe updating the copyright
 > years of Walt Disney's works every year is nonsense.

That can't be done because Walt is dead, and therefore cannot add to
his works.[1]

 > But Emacs' way is alike to it.

No, it's not.  Emacs's source copyrights are updated every year
because Emacs itself is different every year; but old copies of Emacs
in any form do not have their copyrights updated.

 > What is TRT?

Emacs's way.  Copyright is weird, agreed, but given the way copyright
works, Emacs does the right thing.

Footnotes: 
[1]  Of course, Congress regularly does something even more offensive
(ie, extend the term of existing copyrights).  But that's not the same
 as updating the copyright of an existing work.