From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Steve Youngs Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Incorporating patches into GNU Emacs Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 15:29:29 +1000 Organization: The XEmacs Development Team Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <200304180331.h3I3VHwV016738@gbr.newt.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1050644293 4397 80.91.224.249 (18 Apr 2003 05:38:13 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 05:38:13 +0000 (UTC) Keywords: copyright,patch,code,cool Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Fri Apr 18 07:38:10 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 196OZe-00018P-00 for ; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 07:38:10 +0200 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.12 #1 (Debian)) id 196Oco-0007Qo-00 for ; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 07:41:26 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.10.13) id 196OZK-0001oG-02 for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 01:37:50 -0400 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.10.13) id 196OYA-0001TA-00 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 01:36:38 -0400 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.10.13) id 196OY7-0001Ot-00 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 01:36:35 -0400 Original-Received: from mta07ps.bigpond.com ([144.135.25.132]) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.10.13) id 196OY6-0001F6-00 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 01:36:34 -0400 Original-Received: from eicq.dnsalias.org ([144.135.25.87]) by mta07ps.bigpond.com (Netscape Messaging Server 4.15 mta07ps Jul 16 2002 22:47:55) with SMTP id HDIY8U00.0AB for ; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 15:36:30 +1000 Original-Received: from ESS-p-144-138-77-212.mega.tmns.net.au ([144.138.77.212]) by psmam07.bigpond.com(MailRouter V3.2g 119/16109842); 18 Apr 2003 15:36:30 Original-Received: (from steve@localhost) by eicq.dnsalias.org (8.12.7/8.12.7) id h3I5TUfY027287; Fri, 18 Apr 2003 15:29:30 +1000 Mail-Copies-To: never Original-To: Emacs Devel X-Face: %@A&y\ef)A6pi|q43; M>uyhO)~NP*fpdo0XrUuutf0|nku\O5JV(7EG%odc'n6}G@tYRl+B #[n,%B`.sHZ5>3MZvrm%,rWE7)c}ZXjH\>=p@AL\y\gyu|.lJ8B`F++86 X-URL: X-Attribution: SY Mail-Followup-To: Emacs Devel In-Reply-To: <200304180331.h3I3VHwV016738@gbr.newt.com> (Bill Wohler's message of "Thu, 17 Apr 2003 20:31:17 -0700") User-Agent: Gnus/5.090019 (Oort Gnus v0.19) XEmacs/21.5 (cabbage, linux) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Emacs development discussions. List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:13276 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:13276 |--==> "BW" == Bill Wohler writes: BW> So someone sends you a cool patch to put into Emacs. You've BW> signed the copyright assignment papers and can check code into BW> Emacs; they have not and can not. BW> Can you simply incorporate their patch and give them credit in BW> the ChangeLog? The way I understand it, no. The author of the original code needs to assign the copyright to the FSF. For various reasons, the FSF _must_ hold the copyright on every single line of code it distributes. You can't assign a copyright that you have no legal right to. Only the guy with the cool patch, or possibly his employer can do that. And just because you incorporate his code into your own doesn't alter the fact that you don't hold the copyright to that code. You could also quite possibly be breaching cool patch author's copyright. But that's highly unlikely if he has sent you the patch, although his employer might have a claim on it. -- |---------------------| | XEmacs - The only _______ you'll ever need. | | Fill in the blank, yes, it's THAT good! | |---------------------------------------|