Re: Sapphire.cpp -- Gpl compatible? DFSG-free?

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Andrew Donnellan <ajdlinux@gmail.com> writes:

> Well, it's public domain, so there's no restrictions on it and it
> should be fine. (Although there is some debate going on about whether
> it's in fact possible to disclaim copyright in some jurisdictions, but
> I highly doubt the author will try to enforce anything.)

This is no guarantee against the author later realising they still hold
copyright, changing their mind on their generosity, and enforcing their
copyright on those who have violated that copyright.

More significantly, it is no guarantee against *some other party* later
realising they have (by whatever means) obtained the original author's
copyrights, and deciding to enforce them. In other words, this
assumption fails the “Tentacles of Evil” test.

Far better would be to convince the upstream that despite their
attempts, they still do hold copyright, and for them to explicitly grant
license under extremely-permissive terms like those of Expat
<URL:http://www.jclark.com/xml/copying.txt>.

-- 
 \                “Please to bathe inside the tub.” —hotel room, Japan |
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Ben Finney