GFDL redux, all over again, yet another time
While looking up laws this morning, to answer a question someone asked
about the GFDL, I noticed something: 17 USC 1201 grants the copyright
holder the right to authorize that technological measures be bypassed.
The current GFDL trys to prevent any distribution of GFDLed documents
where technological measures may restrict access to the work. In part,
this is probably because anyone can apply such technological measures,
without needing authorization from the copyright holder.
Anyways, for debian's purposes authorization to bypass does us a lot
more good than denying license to those who use measures.
[1] Authorization doesn't run afould of the DFSG.
[2] Authorization makes legit cracking software of any DRM code
used to publish the work.
Our current approach has been rather combative, and rather ineffective.
"The GFDL has these problems, please fix them". I think, instead, we
should offer solutions to each of the problems, and ask that the GFDL
be modified to allow works to be published in a way that satisfies us.
[Once we have that, we can contact authors individually and ask them to
use the satisfactory terms.]
[I have some ideas about further alternatives for some of the other
problematic clauses in the GFDL, but they're not as good as this one.
But the approach seems valid.]
Thanks,
--
Raul
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