Re: Debian Legal summary of the X-Oz License
<posted & mailed>
selussos wrote:
> That possibly could be your own _personal_ prejudice which is
> understandable but I think that U.S. Copyright is fairly well
> deployed throughout this world and is internationally recognized.
Perhaps you might not understand the way international copyright works; I
will explain it just in case.
The way international copyright works is this:
if I have a US copyright, I am treated as having a UK copyright in the UK,
an Argentine copyright in Argentina, a French copyright in France, etc.
All these different copyrights expire at the different times (according to
local law), and most importantly, "fair use"/"fair dealing" provisions are
entirely different in each country.
Debian needs a license which will make the licensed software free in
essentially all countries. (See for instance that Debian is excluding
certain software currently which is the subject of an aggressively enforced
patent in Canada; the patent has expired everywhere else, but Debian is
worldwide.) So we can't rely on aspects of US copyright law which are not
widely accepted, unfortunately -- and "fair use" is one of those elements
which isn't widely accepted.
--
Nathanael Nerode <neroden at gcc.gnu.org>
US citizens: if you're considering voting for Bush, look at these first:
http://www.misleader.org/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/politicsandscience/
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