[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: FunnelWeb manuals copyright issues



Hi Ross,

Thanks for your quick answer !

Ross N. Williams writes:
 > BTW: My understanding is that GNU
 > documentation is not actually covered by the GPL; it's covered by the
 > notice which I include at the end of this message (I remember RMS
 > once mentioning that "we use a different licence for documentation"
 > so I tracked one down). Am I right about this?

>From your quote, it seems so.  There were already some discussions on
our lists and elsewhere about documentation licensing, because it is
clear that "contents" (texts, images, etc.) are of a somewhat
different nature than programs.

 > >Also, the restriction on not putting them on online web sites may
 > >cause problems, because it would be easy (and used to be the default)
 > >on Debian boxes to export the doc directory as http://machine/doc/...,
 > >and the user may then inadvertantly violate the licence.
 > 
 > I imposed this restriction because I didn't want people putting up
 > copies of the manuals on the web and then leaving them there for all
 > eternity while my manual web was updated.

Well, yes, that's a point which is probably not much thought of
usually :|

 > OK. Well I guess if we solve this, the documentation is either
 > going to fall under your main distribution or your non-free
 > distribution. I think it's desirable that it fall under the free
 > one so I'm prepared to compromise (a lot) to do so, including
 > the abandonment of my one-web policy. :-( Tell me if the following text
 > satisfies the ten commandments:

This is great news !

 >      Copyright © Ross N. Williams 1992,1999. All rights reserved.
 >      
 >      Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim electronic
 >      copies of this FunnelWeb (www.ross.net/funnelweb/) manual provided
 >      that all notices (including, without limitation, the copyright notice,
 >      this permission notice, any record of modification, and all legal
 >      notices) are preserved on all copies. Modified versions of this manual
 >      (including translations to other languages) may be distributed under
 >      the same terms, provided that each modification made to the manual
 >      since its original release by Ross N. Williams (www.ross.net) is
 >      identified on the page on which it occurs, and the front page of the
 >      manual carries a notice referring the reader to the official version
 >      at (www.ross.net/funnelweb/). You may print out part or all of the
 >      manual for individual or organization-wide internal use.
 > 
 > If I use this AND provide the FunnelWeb-source-of-the-webs, would
 > that enable you to include the whole lot in your main distribution?

I think so.  I guess someone on deb-legal will tell us if we missed
something.

 > BTW: Please provide a deadline for shipping the revised manuals.

We have a code freeze scheduled for January 15th; it would be nice to
have it ready at that date.

Thanks for your effort,
-- 
Yann Dirson    <ydirson@altern.org> |    Why make M$-Bill richer & richer ?
debian-email:   <dirson@debian.org> |   Support Debian GNU/Linux:
                                    | Cheaper, more Powerful, more Stable !
http://www.altern.org/ydirson/      | Check <http://www.debian.org/>


Reply to: