[okfn-discuss] CC and copyright reform

Wed Oct 30 21:49:38 UTC 2013

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On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 4:53 PM, Rob Myers <rob at robmyers.org> wrote:

> On 30/10/13 12:43 PM, Aaron Wolf wrote:
> >
> > Copyleft is a hack to
> > workaround problems, not something inherently requiring copyright.
>
> Copyleft is inherently a reversal of copyright, in practice and by name.
>
> But as you argue below, in its absence some other mechanism to compel
> disclosure of source code is required. I find economic arguments to the
> contrary unconvincing.
>
> This is possible without new laws. The ODbL is an example of a
> sharealike that is built on more than copyright and tries to cope with
> the absence of rights.
>
> The ODbL shows both the strengths and the limitations of such an approach.
>
> > Obviously there are issues with just axing some law with no further
> > consideration. The full solution involves eliminating copyright while
> > adding laws prohibiting DRM and requiring open-source for all
> > publications. There would then be no need for copyleft. What we want
> > isn't for individuals to choose to be copyleft, what we want is to get
> > rid of proprietary restrictions, so the real answer, if we talk ideals,
> > is to just ban the restrictions and mechanisms that lead to them.
>
> I agree that it's important to pursue the ideal of freedom rather than
> get tangled up in specific expressions of opposition to it. UNIX was a
> trade secret prior to software being copyrightable in the US, for example.
>
> Here's some rms:
>
>
> http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2010/07/could-free-software-exist-without-copyright/index.htm
>
> "I would be glad to see the abolition of copyright on software if it
> were done in such a way as to ensure that software is free. After all,
> the point of copyleft is to achieve that goal for derivatives of certain
> programs. If all software were free, copyleft would not be needed for
> software.
>
> However, abolishing copyright could also be done in a misguided way that
> would have no effect on typical proprietary software (which is
> restricted by EULAs and source code secrecy rather than copyright), and
> only undermines the practice of copyleft. Naturally I would be against
> that.
>
> In other words, I am more concerned with how the law affects users'
> freedom than with what happens to copyright as such."
>
>
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-- 
Developer | sunlightfoundation.com
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