Collaborative Virtual Workspace License (CVW)

Joerg Schilling schilling at fokus.gmd.de
Wed Aug 22 10:16:16 UTC 2001


>From: Reinhard Mueller <reinhard.mueller at bytewise.at>

>> On 18 Aug 2001 18:38:16 +0200, Loic Dachary wrote:
>> 
>>>	This sentence allows the following scenario:
>>>
>>>	- you make modifications
>>>	- you assign copyright to MITRE
>>>	- MITRE releases your modifications under a non free software license
>>>	  and publish them on their web site
>>>	- you are not allowed to use your own code
>>>	- you have to remove your own modifications from your machine
>>>
>>>	I know this is unlikely but it's permitted by the license. Therefore
>>>the freedom to modify the software is crippled, hence the license is not
>>>Free Software.
>>>
>>>	Do you see any flaw in this logic ? 
>>>
>>>
>> The license is free software, just like the BSD license (without the
>> advertising clause). What it does not do is to enforce that the future
>> versions of the software will stay free software, but neither does GPL.
>> If the FSF ever is taken over all the GNU project could be transformed
>> into proprietary software because the GNU project has a similar clause:
>> all the software must have its copyright assigned to the FSF.

>This is not really true.
>* It's not true that all GNU projects _must_ have copyright assigned to 
>FSF. However, you are asked to do so, and it's a good choice to do so if 
>you want your software to be incorporated into the official GNU system.


	It seems that you are badly informed....

I _have_ been in discussion with FSF about this topic when talking about
'star' ~ 3 years ago.

After several other points have been agreed on, they told me that I am 
requested to transfer the copyright to FSF. 

After I told them that I will not do this but I will allow FSF to _add_
their copyright notice to mine, they stopped with the discussion.
It seems that at least for core programs FSF insists in this point which
from point of view reduces freedom.

Jörg

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