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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
bybetterunixthanunix ( 980855 ) writes:
A copyright ruling...but it is good for freedom...
Head explodes
byDarkKnightRadick ( 268025 ) writes:
It isn't good for freedom because it involves copyleft. It does nothing to keep anyone free. It's just another sort of shackle. Throw off the shackles! [copyfree.org]
bycountertrolling ( 1585477 ) writes:
Simple public domain will do...
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byhcpxvi ( 773888 ) writes:
Please tell us how one would magically put their code into the public domain without first dying and then waiting a few decades. I think you can just release it with a statement that says something along the lines of "This software is public domain. I, the author, hereby forego any copyright on it." Or you could write it as part of your job while an employee of the United States government. There is a fair amount of numerical software that is public domain for that reason.
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byGolddess ( 1361003 ) writes:
Until some corporation comes along and "convinces" a few congresscritters to give it to them instead [slashdot.org].
bywvmarle ( 1070040 ) writes:
Depending on the exact letter of the law, it is not always possible to fully forego your copyright and/or authorship. Have a look at the Creative Commons CC0 [creativecommons.org] license. That is the closest you can get to putting it in the public domain outright. After all in most jurisdictions (and certainly under the Berne Convention) copyright is automatic. You create it, you own the copyright. Getting rid of that copyright may actually be a problem.
byThe_mad_linguist ( 1019680 ) writes:
"This software is public domain. I, the author, hereby forego any copyright on it."
Hah, sucker! Thanks for the software!
bycountertrolling ( 1585477 ) writes:
Then what term can we use to mean "unrestricted in any form"? Plagiarism issues aside for the moment..
byhcpxvi ( 773888 ) writes:
IANAL, but ... My guess would be that public domain is actually quite simple. You forego copyright on your code, thereby placing it in the public domain. And then anyone can do whatever they like with it. I also guess that whoever wrote that pseudo-license on that (unlinked) NASA website had a very shaky understanding of both software licensing and of copyright law and has written something which is self-contradictory. If he wanted to retain some control over the code he should not have placed it in the pub
byjbolden ( 176878 ) writes:
I'm not sure that license is valid at all, and seems to self contradict. I wouldn't use it as an example of anything other than bad lawyering.
byLunix Nutcase ( 1092239 ) writes:
There is no "license" when something is in the public domain. The only way one could enforce such as license would be by holding a copyright or some other sort of IP right to the code, but such a thing doesn't exist for public domain works.
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