From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Nick Roberts Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Copyright notices Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 12:36:42 +1200 Message-ID: <17132.7450.945474.746680@farnswood.snap.net.nz> References: <17130.41727.178496.468583@farnswood.snap.net.nz> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1122771632 7861 80.91.229.2 (31 Jul 2005 01:00:32 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 01:00:32 +0000 (UTC) Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Jul 31 03:00:22 2005 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1Dz2Bb-0003ll-QC for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 31 Jul 2005 03:00:16 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1Dz2EB-0003qa-Dx for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 30 Jul 2005 21:02:55 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1Dz2CY-0003A2-Ot for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 30 Jul 2005 21:01:14 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1Dz2CT-00037V-TW for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 30 Jul 2005 21:01:11 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1Dz2CT-00032u-Em for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 30 Jul 2005 21:01:09 -0400 Original-Received: from [202.37.101.8] (helo=viper.snap.net.nz) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1Dz20H-0008Le-2y; Sat, 30 Jul 2005 20:48:33 -0400 Original-Received: from farnswood.snap.net.nz (p215-tnt1.snap.net.nz [202.124.110.215]) by viper.snap.net.nz (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5FF1C5F588D; Sun, 31 Jul 2005 12:36:15 +1200 (NZST) Original-Received: by farnswood.snap.net.nz (Postfix, from userid 501) id 946B162A99; Sun, 31 Jul 2005 01:36:43 +0100 (BST) Original-To: rms@gnu.org In-Reply-To: X-Mailer: VM 7.19 under Emacs 22.0.50.4 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:41364 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:41364 > I will do the lisp/progmodes directory (probably sometime next week). > > Thanks. > > I think we should redo every file according to the new legal advice. It occurs to me that if there isn't a release until 2006 (or later!) then all the files will need to be changed again. Now that the legal advice suggests a straightforward solution perhaps this process could (ultimately) be scripted. Given that the copyright seems to apply to Emacs as a whole: "Our lawyer says it is ok if we add, to each file that has been in Emacs since Emacs 21 came out in 2001, all the subsequent years. We don't need to check whether *that file* was changed in those years. It's sufficient that *Emacs* was changed in those years (and it was!). perhaps all files could display the _same_ copyright notice (apart from comment delimiters) for the period from the start of Emacs (1985?) to the present? Currently emacs/admin/notes/years has the above paragraph and notes from our earlier uninformed discussions. I think the latter should be removed and (some of it contradicts the paragraph) and some statement about partial dates e.g 1994,95,96,97 and periods e.g 2001-2004 could be added. Ideally the file should really be written by a lawyer if thats possible. I am somewhat surprised that the FSF doesn't aleady have clear guidelines about copyright notices for GNU projects and Free Software in general. Currently, if I start GDB from CVS, I get: > nickrob/39 src/gdb/gdb > GNU gdb 6.3.50.20050729-cvs > Copyright 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc. > GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and you are > welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under certain conditions. > Type "show copying" to see the conditions. > There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for details. > This GDB was configured as "i586-pc-linux-gnu". > (gdb) Not only is the year wrong but it seems to suggest that everything before 2004 is not copyrighted. I don't pretend to understand these issues but it seems like we could be giving away the family silver. Nick