>>>>> "Karl" == Karl M Hegbloom <hegbloom@pdx.edu> writes: Karl> What if we made a GPL for Ideas? Write up your idea, and licence Karl> it under a GPL like licence. Since I cannot just get a thing done Karl> or manufactured, perhaps I can get my idea accomplished by simply Karl> sharing it...? Ideas cannot be copyrighted. In order to protect an idea, you need to patent it, which costs money and effort, and then you can make a license, but it's not really worth it if you're just going to give it away. What some people have done (unfortunately, I don't have a link) is to write up ideas, thus providing documentation for prior art, which prevents others from patenting your idea. But that won't force people who use your idea to open up improvements on your idea. Karl> I was thinking about how things like that could be done under a Karl> GPL or open hardware like system, with an industry co-op for Karl> research and design sharing, college tuition scholarships, Karl> internships, etc... they could licence the blueprints in some way Karl> that would ensure that nobody "takes over" and overcompetes for a Karl> sales area or something... but there could be more factories and Karl> distributed world wide to simplify logistics for new ones and Karl> _compatible_ replacement parts. Designs and blueprints are probably copyrightable (maybe depending on jurisdiction), and so you could apply the GPL, FDL (without invariant sections, etc.), or any other free license. -- Hubert Chan <hubert@uhoreg.ca> - http://www.uhoreg.ca/ PGP/GnuPG key: 1024D/124B61FA Fingerprint: 96C5 012F 5F74 A5F7 1FF7 5291 AF29 C719 124B 61FA Key available at wwwkeys.pgp.net. Encrypted e-mail preferred.
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