Re: Are all files produced by GPL Ghostscript copyrighted by 'Artifex Software, Inc.'?
Issues regarding copyright, or legal issues in general should be sent to
debian-legal@lists.debian.org CC'd
On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 10:09:32PM -0800, Vaibhav Niku wrote:
> Hello all
>
> pdf2ps, which is a frontend to gs, inserts a copyright notice in all PS files it produces. I am using `GPL Ghostscript 8.71 (2010-02-10)'. Files look like this:
>
> %!PS-Adobe-3.0
> ...
> %%Creator: GPL Ghostscript 871 (pswrite)
> ...
> %%BeginProlog
> % This copyright applies to everything between here and the %%EndProlog:
> % Copyright (C) 2010 Artifex Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
> %%BeginResource: procset GS_pswrite_2_0_1001 1.001 0
> ...
> %%EndProlog
> ...
> %%EOF
>
> (Needless to say, the files are corrupted if you delete the Prolog stuff.)
>
> This is a serious issue on multiple counts:
>
> (i) The idea itself is ghastly! It is like saying that if you convert a photo from one format to another in via ImageMagick tools, ImageMagick LLC will hold the copyright to your new photo. And it may be even worse. Depending on where all gs inserts the copyright notice, it may be equivalent to emacs claiming copyright for all your code!
>
> (ii) Why is the information about this missing _everywhere_? Nothing in man pages, nothing in /usr/share/doc/ghostscript/, nothing on gs homepages (http://www.ghostscript.com and http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/ .)
>
> And finally,
> (iii) Why is gs a part of Debian? Since Debian maintainers find such restrictions acceptable for files produced by one program, how do I know that it is not acceptable for other programs? Am I supposed to check files with a hexeditor after every change I make to every file?
>
>
> P.S.: Someone on #debian at irc.debian.org said that the notice is not inserted when using the upcoming version 9.17 of gs. (available in wheezy; the latest version for stable is 8.71)
>
> Even so, I would like to have clear information about this file. There are probaly hundreds of thousands of files having this notice upto now. The authors of these would be interested in knowing that ARTIFEX SOFTWARE, INC claims copyright for them. (https://duckduckgo.com/html/?q=%25%20This%20copyright%20applies%20to%20everything%20between%20here%20and%20the%20%25%25EndProlog%3A )
>
> Yours faithfully,
> ~Vaibhav.
>
>
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who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the
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