Public Domain (was Re: warranty)

[João Miguel Neves]

On 03 May 2001 11:28:26 +0200, Werner Koch wrote:
> On Thu, 3 May 2001, João Miguel Neves wrote:
> 
> > I think you're right on this. I've been told that here in Portugal only
> > the only way to avoid having to provide warranty protection is to put
> > the software in public domain (note: I never confirmed this). If this is
> 
> There is no 'Public Domain' in most European legislations.  This is
> a term from the U.S. copryright law and not applicable elsewhere.
> 

At least in the portuguese legislation there is (it's called 'domínio público')
and is defined as the absence of any right over the work. A product enters 
public domain after copyright becomes invalid. There are exceptions: if you 
publish an original work even if it's in public domain, you get equivalent 
rights to copyright for 25 years.

According to what I've found, the portuguese legislation is based on (has been 
adjusted to) European Council Directive 93/98/CEE of 29/October. SO I would 
expect most EU countries to have something alike.