On Mon, Nov 11, 2002 at 06:50:08PM +0000, Colin Watson wrote: > spectrum-roms can basically never be free software - even if the > copyright holders wanted it to be, they've lost the source code. Of course it can be. The copyright holders can put it into the public domain[1], for instance, through a simple decree clearly identifying the work. Are you sure you're not thinking of GPL-compatibility issues? The lack of available source code (the "preferred form for modification") does potentially pose problems for abandonware where the source code is unavailable, but that's not a freedom issue when that lack is not the result of deliberate action or withholding. Anyway, not being GPL-compatible in the license department doesn't mean a thing isn't licensed DFSG-freely. Feel free to raise the issue of ZX Spectrum ROMs on debian-legal. I'm sure we can split hairs over there and/or ask the FSF about "preferred forms for modification" where even the copyright holder no longer has the original perferred form for modification around anymore. (Problems like this are why I favor a "use it or lose it" approach to copyright terms. Keep your work on the open market, or it becomes part of the public domain.) [1] or otherwise relicense it, say under the MIT/X11 license -- G. Branden Robinson | "Why do we have to hide from the Debian GNU/Linux | police, Daddy?" branden@debian.org | "Because we use vi, son. They use http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | emacs."
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