Re: Question about licensing

[Bruce Perens <bruce@va.debian.org>]

From: John Hasler <john@dhh.gt.org>
> Copyright is concerned with the making of copies, not "threads of control".

A unique aspect of software is that a derived work can be produced for
automatic assembly by the consumer. The derived work contains a set of
instructions to be executed by the customer, on the behalf of the author
of the derived work, to instantiate a copy of the original work for the
purpose of the customer's using it in a derived work. The program won't work
any other way.

Also, your statement stands on copyright law as an entity divorced from
contract law. However, the concept of copyright law alone would not allow
licensing, since licenses must be read in the context of contract law as well.
The license can state whatever it wants about use, including things it
considers forms of derivation.

	Thanks

	Bruce