Re: [syl20bnr/spacemacs] Proposal to improve GPL compliance (#14444)

[github.com@gnu.support]

* Lucius Hu <notifications@github.com> [2021-03-03 20:07]:
> @thanhvg 
> Code snippets you found online are usually `unlicensed` and you can
> adapt those into your codebase, with the following exceptions:

> - If the (apparent) author claims that it's licensed, then you should check the license compatibility.
> - If the hosting website claims it owns the copyright or the
> - contents on its website is under a specific license, then you also
> - need to check the compatibility.

That is absolutely incorrect.

Any works are automatically protected unless author has some different
licensing terms.

When some work is there without license that means it is protected by
copyright laws and thus proprietary. It becomes free software only if
explicitly stated so.

Please see the question answered related to US copyrights:
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

Where it says:

"Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the
moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you
wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular
1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.” "

Thus when work is created, be it piece of text, software, paintings,
image, the copyright exists from the moment work is created. Without
explicitly licensing it as free software it is not free and thus
cannot just be copied and pasted as somebody wish and want.

In the end that spoils the GNU GPL licensed free software with
proprietary software for which one have never got permission.

> In general, if it's unlicensed you just need to include the link to
> the original page/author.

That is incorrect. See above.

While in US it is recommended to register copyrights, it exists just
as in all other countries automatically from the moment of creation of
the work.