From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Filipe Silva Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Please explain the FSF copyright assignment thing Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2017 15:06:33 -0300 Message-ID: References: <87shi08bx5.fsf@wanadoo.es> NNTP-Posting-Host: blaine.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="001a113bd0540b4812055436cb56" X-Trace: blaine.gmane.org 1499969233 5322 195.159.176.226 (13 Jul 2017 18:07:13 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2017 18:07:13 +0000 (UTC) Cc: Emacs developers To: =?UTF-8?Q?=C3=93scar_Fuentes?= Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Thu Jul 13 20:07:08 2017 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by blaine.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1dViW3-00015s-Kr for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 20:07:07 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:33380 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1dViW9-00057F-4g for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:07:13 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:42237) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1dViVZ-00056r-MF for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:06:38 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1dViVY-0006VH-Fv for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:06:37 -0400 Original-Received: from mail-oi0-x234.google.com ([2607:f8b0:4003:c06::234]:35458) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.0:RSA_AES_128_CBC_SHA1:16) (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1dViVY-0006Ts-63 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:06:36 -0400 Original-Received: by mail-oi0-x234.google.com with SMTP id 191so52811580oii.2 for ; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 11:06:35 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=8jCfHfmWvpq0CMDXMc9Iq/cpg6vtWzB9gJTaG4GSWEQ=; b=vFm5dh138OF03qOTkejfvZIU2KN8q+LoRyumLz0txGnCOtLaNaKCCoN/bzD6fXCQVC acZLxy9vol/6ydvXDp0MLqPvgRQivgCtKpkPdad6c7QexDU9cQaf2jLdgEkSQWxdlRBW TcNSc150KI3nkaXPD6XPNwuryErkQ001rFdTqvnPlV3q4RWbXZ+dNwr6EJxhD8n4TEPV UT9xNxcHak/GYfVIj2NNG5lQY3x2YRpDQKiQD6SAeASF0tx2/yxkQZBnzw3Cx29uuzXJ xxbFRrpQdcWmkCvQWBkLyUqo1zazDYGXDtpmpX+NZCbfcSIYhkQFhn4rLZ+BtEdZmRNh YfxQ== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=8jCfHfmWvpq0CMDXMc9Iq/cpg6vtWzB9gJTaG4GSWEQ=; b=o8bTjOYZS5WkxkfTORQoazj87YaKEXhpDjMy6Yla5IJ2vZO9kAd0jn7xZxMfPcixVq 3iJduvygzNIa+l7BRF85Q25VKxXiiZ8gM/O4mue31vQRKm3OR3uJhSa/VkcYgvBZzBOH eysc+jLLnfdDfN8kn066ii0OFhLOWx0u0kU3S/fNerLNCpovmp7lqSTRULTRRJEbcVGQ mJtK77fXjgSwEtlK3k625ePr0eVV1+P3AkKXLDG9Vxkepb/N0r9E6waZaU1QGUEZz/PW JcnZvQ3d+xPZ5fUq0I9WWhi0Oj8KuuVQP8lS3qyUccm1lGfVzpgaQHzLXV2wXBHyqNGx f3Nw== X-Gm-Message-State: AIVw112jnQqtunqghxPqtS3lPgMxzswpAqS2Ip0K4dJZOIEpjPfBgUN5 Y433ISWHa4/R+9lG/nTyAaQO0XHCYg== X-Received: by 10.202.66.4 with SMTP id p4mr3608102oia.114.1499969195032; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 11:06:35 -0700 (PDT) Original-Received: by 10.182.85.69 with HTTP; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 11:06:33 -0700 (PDT) Original-Received: by 10.182.85.69 with HTTP; Thu, 13 Jul 2017 11:06:33 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <87shi08bx5.fsf@wanadoo.es> X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 2607:f8b0:4003:c06::234 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "Emacs-devel" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:216591 Archived-At: --001a113bd0540b4812055436cb56 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable That's terrible. I see the point now. This should be explained in more instances. That's really not obvious for the legally inapt. But tell me, how exactly could a berserk past author of a package do legally to make things nasty? What legal maneuver would he use to exert prejudice against FSF or the free software community if the software is in GPLv3? that gives me the impression that GPLv3 does not protect as much as I believed. On Jul 13, 2017 14:50, "=C3=93scar Fuentes" wrote: > Filipe Silva writes: > > This is not the correct forum for this matters, but anyway... > > > With the recent activity regarding RMS wishing that someone would come = up > > and write a replacement for magit that could be bundled inside emacs, a= nd > > give FSF the whole copyright assignment, I cannot help but be intrigued= : > > what good do these required copyright assignments do to the free softwa= re > > community? > > Only the copyright holder can effectively exert the associated legal > rights. > > > I really, really tried to understand but cannot. It's hard enough for a > > community to be graced with the luck of having someone as Jonas Bernoul= li > > write the magit package, give away de code as GPLv3, and actually > maintain > > it through years. > > Jonas is the current lead maintaner of Magit. Before him there were > other maintainers. And even before was Marius Vollmer, who is the > original author and who deserves all the credit about the UI design > ideas that makes Magit great. > > > Now you have to also sign physical papers handing the > > copyright to the FSF. that makes the process so much difficult. What's > the > > gain? > > > > So what if the copyright belongs to someone else. Isn't this free > software? > > gplv3? don't you have the four liberties? > > > > Enlighten me, please. > > If Emacs distributes work which are not legally assigned to the FSF and > some author of that work goes berserk, things can turn *very* nasty, on > the legal aspect. It happened on the past. > > > --001a113bd0540b4812055436cb56 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
That's terrible. I see the point now. This should be = explained in more instances.

T= hat's really not obvious for the legally inapt.=C2=A0

But tell me, how exactly could a berserk = past author of a package do legally to make things nasty? What legal maneuv= er would he use to exert prejudice against FSF or the free software communi= ty if the software is in GPLv3?

that gives me the impression that GPLv3 does not protect as much = as I believed.=C2=A0

On Jul 13, 2017 14:50, "=C3=93scar Fuentes" &l= t;ofv@wanadoo.es> wrote:
Filipe Silva <filipe.silva@gmail.com> writes:

This is not the correct forum for this matters, but anyway...

> With the recent activity regarding RMS wishing that someone would come= up
> and write a replacement for magit that could be bundled inside emacs, = and
> give FSF the whole copyright assignment, I cannot help but be intrigue= d:
> what good do these required copyright assignments do to the free softw= are
> community?

Only the copyright holder can effectively exert the associated legal rights= .

> I really, really tried to understand but cannot. It's hard enough = for a
> community to be graced with the luck of having someone as Jonas Bernou= lli
> write the magit package, give away de code as GPLv3, and actually main= tain
> it through years.

Jonas is the current lead maintaner of Magit. Before him there were
other maintainers. And even before was Marius Vollmer, who is the
original author and who deserves all the credit about the UI design
ideas that makes Magit great.

> Now you have to also sign physical papers handing the
> copyright to the FSF. that makes the process so much difficult. What&#= 39;s the
> gain?
>
> So what if the copyright belongs to someone else. Isn't this free = software?
> gplv3? don't you have the four liberties?
>
> Enlighten me, please.

If Emacs distributes work which are not legally assigned to the FSF and
some author of that work goes berserk, things can turn *very* nasty, on
the legal aspect. It happened on the past.


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