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Rework public domain section,

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including cross referencing to new sections to be written,
and handling the FIXME.
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Bradley M. Kuhn 2014-03-15 16:01:01 -04:00
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@ -349,23 +349,19 @@ Software. In an imaginary world with no copyright, the rules would be
different. In this world, when you received a copy of a program's source
code, there would be no default legal system to restrict you from sharing it
with others, making modifications, or redistributing those modified
versions.\footnote{There could still exist legal systems, like our modern
patent system, which could restrict the software in other ways, as well as
technical measures, such as binary-only distribution, that impeded such activity.}
versions.\footnote{Note that this is again an oversimplification; the
complexities with this argument are discussed in
Section~\ref{software-and-non-copyright}.}
Software in the real world is copyrighted by default and is
automatically covered by that legal system. However, it is possible
to move software out of the domain of the copyright system. A
copyright holder can often \defn{disclaim} their
copyright. If copyright is disclaimed, the software is not governed
by copyright law. Software not governed by copyright is in the
Software in the real world is copyrighted by default and is automatically
covered by that legal system. However, it is possible to move software out
of the domain of the copyright system. A copyright holder can often
\defn{disclaim} their copyright. If copyright is disclaimed, the software is
not governed by copyright law. Software not governed by copyright is in the
``public domain.''
\subsection{Public Domain Software}
% FIXME: this section needs more improvements to make it clear that public
% domain dedication is difficult, if not impossible.
% Karen suggests that talking about USA government software being public
% domain might make sense here.
Theoretically, an author can create public domain software by disclaiming all
copyright interest on the work. In the USA and other countries that have
signed the Berne convention on copyright, software is copyrighted
@ -392,6 +388,23 @@ is absent copyright and absent a license. The software freedoms discussed in
Section~\ref{Free Software Definition} are all granted because there is no
legal system in play to take them away.
Admittedly, a discussion of public domain software is an oversimplified
example. First, disclaimer of copyright is actually difficult in practice.
Because copyright controls are usually automatically granted and because, in
some jurisdictions, some copyright controls cannot be waived (See
Section~\ref{non-usa-copyright} for further discussion), many copyright
holders sometimes incorrectly believe a work has been placed in the public
domain. Second, due to aggressive lobbying by the entertainment industry,
the ``exclusive Right'' of copyright, that was supposed to only exist for
``Limited Times'' according to the USA Constitution, appears to be infinite:
simply purchased on the installment plan rather than in whole. Thus, we must
assume no works of software will fall into the public domain merely due to
the passage of time.
The best example of software known to be in the public domain is software
that is published exclusively produced by the USA government. Under
\href{http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105}{17 USC 101 \S 105}, all
works published by the USA Government are not copyrightable.
\subsection{Why Copyright Free Software?}