Re: GFDL freedoms
On Saturday 16 April 2005 00:10, Adam McKenna wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 15, 2005 at 11:59:38PM +0200, David Schmitt wrote:
> > On Thursday 14 April 2005 22:32, Adam McKenna wrote:
> > > On Thu, Apr 14, 2005 at 10:17:12PM +0200, Wouter Verhelst wrote:
> > > > Now imagine someone who's doing a study on available algorithms for
> > > > Fourier transforms, and wants to pick out parts of the text in the
> > > > invariant section to write his paper.
> > >
> > > It seems that he could do this with a simple footnote or end note
> > > referencing the document in question.
> > >
> > > You can do that with copyrighted text that gives you no rights at all.
> > > So I'm not sure why you couldn't also do it with text licensed under
> > > the GFDL.
> >
> > Indeed. But this obviously then is no "free" work. Why should Debian want
> > to distribute that in main?
>
> I'm not sure what you're asking, but the point was that you don't need the
> author's permission, or a license, to use quotes or cite portions of a text
> in another work.
I'm asking why Debian would want to distribute a work which only is available
under default-copright all-right-reserved clauses in main.
Wouters example is bigger than citation. Think "This text based on
$invariant_section", which would not be possible without jumping through the
GFDL-loops.
> I can go to a library and look in books and use
> information from those books to write a paper. I can do the same thing
> with a document that has been released under the GFDL.
But you cannot go and use characters - say from Lord of the Rings - in
your novel just because you find them in the library. The GFDL seems to be
more permissive to me as it would allow you to use the characters, as long as
you jump through certain loops, like attaching the invariant sections. Many
people do not want to accept such requirements as free.
> If you're suggesting that in order to write a paper with citations from a
> GFDL work I'd need to include the invariant sections in my paper, I don't
> agree with that.
I am not suggesting that. As you yourself said, a license cannot forbid the
default-rights under the copyright law, but it can restrict the kind, type and
form of derived works. Citation is not derivation. Copy&pasting&modifying is
derivation. Former doesn't infect a work with the GFDL requirements, the
latter does.
> You only need to include the invariant sections if you
> make a modified version of the original work. I don't see how you could
> claim that this applies to citations in a paper about a related subject.
"Picking out parts of the text" is - in contrast to (academic) citations -
derivation, which does require complying to the terms of the GFDL.
I'm just trying to steer the discussion back to the topic: "Why should Debian
distribute a GFDL licensed work in main?"
Or more to the specific point at hand: "Why should Debian distribute a work,
which requires redistribution of arbitrary unmodified non-essential content
alongside derived works?"
Regards, David
--
- hallo... wie gehts heute?
- *hust* gut *rotz* *keuch*
- gott sei dank kommunizieren wir über ein septisches medium ;)
-- Matthias Leeb, Uni f. angewandte Kunst, 2005-02-15
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