Re: question : authors names in code
On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 04:53:23PM -0500, Simon Ruggier wrote:
> On 1/15/08, Jens Seidel <jensseidel@users.sf.net> wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 08:54:19PM +0100, Vincent Fourmond wrote:
> > > In my understanding, you should never modify a copyright notice unless
> > > that is explicitly granted by the license. This is very rare (the only
> >
> > Why? You can change any file as long as the license allows it. If the
> > source file is part of Debian you are free to change everything.
> >
> > You can of course not change the copyright of the file itself (the
> > author owns it, independent whether it is mentioned or not). But there
> > is no rule which states that a copyright notice has to be added to a
> > file and this note should not be changed.
> >
>
> It seems to me that these two paragraphs you've written mutually
> contradict each other. I agree with Vincent about this, and there was
Please read more carefully. I wrote that you cannot change the copyright
but are free to change the copyright notice. The first is law stuff the
second only a piece of text.
> a flamewar between OpenBSD people and some developers from
> linux-wireless, who naively thought they could just replace the
> conditions with "compatible" ones.
>
> See http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS2902106404.html for the first
> reference to this I found. I'm too busy for now to actually read the
This only refers to a license change which is completely different from
changing a copyright notice!
> documents that the Software Freedom Law Centre released in response to
> this, but they're probably a useful source of guidance.
I'm sure that a project would not be DFSG-free if it would forbid
changing the copyright notice (an exception are probably only the
license files itself).
PS: A similar discussion happens today on the boost list.
Jens
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