path: root/admin/notes/copyright

Copyright (C) 2007  Free Software Foundation, Inc.
See the end of the file for license conditions.


NOTES ON COPYRIGHTS AND LICENSES

Some terminology:

A "copyright notice" consists of one or a few lines of this format:
"Copyright (C) 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc."

A "license notice" is a statement of permissions, and is usually much
longer, eg the text "GNU Emacs is free software...".


Every non-trivial file distributed through the Emacs CVS should be
self-explanatory in terms of copyright and license. This includes
files that are not distributed in Emacs releases (for example, the
admin/ directory), because the whole Emacs CVS is publicly
available.

The definition of triviality is a little vague, but a rule of thumb is
that any file with less than 15 lines of actual content is trivial. If
a file is auto-generated (eg ldefs-boot.el) from another one in the
CVS, then it does not really matter about adding a copyright statement
to the generated file.

However, here is a quote from Matt Norwood (Software Freedom Law
Center) that suggests we should revise the above policy about trivial
files:

    If FSF has a strong policy reason notices off of files it
    considers "trivial", this will take a lot more bookkeeping; it
    also runs the risk of these "trivial" files later growing into
    non-trivial files, and being in the tree without any record of
    authorship. All in all, I think it's a better policy to attach the
    notice and let future authors decide if something is trivial when
    they want to reuse it elsewhere.
    [...]
    In general, copyright law will step back and look at the overall "work"
    consisting of all the assembled components working together as a system;
    it will apply protection and permissions to this system, not to its
    subcomponents. If parts of it are recombined into another system, it
    will consider the protections and permissions for each of the source
    components only in order to assess the overall status of the work again.
    The assessment of whether a set of components is entitled to copyright
    protection is the degree to which they display "creativity": not as
    atomic units, but as parts of a system working in concert. Thus, several
    "trivial" components working together in some coherent system might be
    protectible.

The years in the copyright notice should be updated every year (see
file "years" in this directory). The PS versions of refcards etc
should display copyright notices (an exception to the rule about
"generated" files), but these can just display the latest year. The
full list of years should be kept in comments in the source file. If
these are distributed in CVS, check in a regenerated version when the
tex files are updated.

Copyright changes should be propagated to any associated repositories
(eg Gnus, MH-E), but I think in every case this happens automatically
(?).

All README (and other such text files) that are non-trivial should
contain copyright statements and GPL license notices, exactly as .el
files do (see e.g. README in the top-level directory). (Before 2007,
we used a simple, short statement permitting copying and modification
provided legal notices were retained. In Feb 2007 we switched to the
standard GPL text, on legal advice.)

For image files, the copyright and license details should be recorded
in a README file in each directory with images. (Legal advice says
that we need not add notices to each image file individually, if they
allow for that.)

When installing a file with an "unusual" license (after checking first
it is ok), put a copy of the copyright and license in the file (if
possible. It's ok if this makes the file incompatible with its
original format, if it can still be used by Emacs), or in a README
file in the relevant directory.

The vast majority of files are copyright FSF and distributed under the
GPL. A few files (mainly related to language and charset support) are
copyright AIST alone, or both AIST and FSF. (Contact Kenichi Handa
with questions about legal issues in such files.) In all these cases,
the copyright years in each file should be updated each year.

There are some exceptions to the points in the previous paragraph, and
these are listed below for reference, together with any files where
the copyright needs to be updated in "unusual" ways.

If you find any other such cases, please consult to check they are ok,
and note them in this file. This includes missing copyright notices,
and "odd" copyright holders. In most cases, individual authors should
not appear in copyright statements. Either the copyright has been
assigned (check copyright.list) to the FSF (in which case the original
author should be removed and the year(s) transferred to the FSF); or
else it is possible the file should not be in Emacs at all (please
report!).

Note that it seems painfully clear that one cannot rely on CVS logs,
or even ChangeLogs, for older changes. People often installed changes
from others, without recording the true authorship.

[For reference, most of these points were established via email with
rms, 2007/1, "Copyright years".]


lib-src/etags.c           # print_version
lib-src/rcs2log           # Copyright
lisp/calc/calc-help.el    # calc-full-help
lisp/startup.el           # fancy-splash-tail
mac/Emacs.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings
mac/src/Emacs.r           # resource 'vers'
src/emacs.c
  - remember to change the latest copyright year in the --version output.
  [Post-release, will automate this like set-version does for version.]


<top-level>/install-sh
lispintro/install-sh
 - this file is copyright MIT, which is OK. Leave the copyright alone.

etc/edt-user.doc
  - update BOTH notices in this file

etc/letter.pbm.letter.xpm
  - trivial, no notice needed.

leim/CXTERM-DIC/4Corner.tit, ARRAY30.tit, CCDOSPY.tit, ECDICT.tit,
ETZY.tit, PY-b5.tit, Punct-b5.tit, Punct.tit, QJ-b5.tit, QJ.tit,
SW.tit, TONEPY.tit, ZOZY.tit
  - leave the copyrights alone.

leim/MISC-DIC/CTLau-b5.html, CTLau.html, cangjie-table.b5, cangjie-table.cns,
pinyin.map, ziranma.cin
  - leave the copyright alone.

leim/SKK-DIC/SKK-JISYO.L
ja-dic/ja-dic.el
  (the latter is auto-generated from the former). Leave the copyright alone.

lib-src/etags.c
  - this has a copyright Ken Arnold. We are still deciding what should
  be done here (see below).

lib-src/getopt1.c, getopt_int.h
  - these are from the GNU C library. Leave the copyrights alone.

lisp/play/tetris.el
  - no special rules about the copyright. We note here that we believe
  (2007/1) there is no problem with our use of the name "tetris" or
  the concept.
  rms: "My understanding is that game rules as such are not copyrightable."
  <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2007-01/msg00960.html>

lispref/doclicense.texi
man/doclicense.texi
  - leave the copyright alone in this imported file.

lisp/net/tramp.el
  - there are also copyrights in the body of the file. Update these too.

msdos/is_exec.c, sigaction.c
  - these files are copyright DJ Delorie. Leave the copyrights alone.
  Leave the Eli Zaretskii copyright in is_exec.c alone. See the
  msdos/README file for the legal history of these files.

src/gmalloc.c
  - contains numerous copyrights from the GNU C library. Leave them alone.

src/acldef.h, chpdef.h, ndir.h
  - see comments below. These files are OK to be released with Emacs
  22, but we may want to revisit them afterwards.

[src/unexhp9k800.c - removed 2007/1/27]
[src/m/sr2k.h - removed 2007/1/27]
  - First file removed due to legal uncertainties; second file removed
  due to dependency on first. Note that src/m/hp800.h is still needed on
  hp800 arch.
  NB we would like to re-add this file if we can. Please let us know
  if you can clarify its legal status.


*** These are copyright issues that need not be fixed until after
    Emacs 22 is released (though if they can be fixed before, that is
    obviously good):


Is it OK to just `cvs remove' a file for legal reasons, or is
something more drastic needed? A removed file is still available from
CVS, if suitable options are applied. (This CVS issue obviously does
not affect a release).
  rms: will ask lawyer


REMOVED etc/orgcard.tex, orgcard.ps
  Re-add these files if an assignment is received from Rooke.

etc/images
  Image files from GTK, Gnome are under GPLv2 (no "or later"?). RMS will
  contact image authors in regards to future switch to v3.


src/acldef.h, chpdef.h, ndir.h
  On legal advice from Matt Norwood, the following comment was added
  to these files in Feb 2007:

    The code here is forced by the interface, and is not subject to
    copyright, constituting the only possible expression of the
    algorithm in this format.

  With the addition of this notice, these files are OK for the
  upcoming Emacs-22 release. Post-release, we can revisit this issue
  and possibly add a list of all authors who have changed these files.
  (details in email from Matt Norwood to rms, 2007/02/03).


REMOVED src/unexhp9k800.c
  - we would like to re-add this file if possible. Please let us know
  if you can clarify its legal status.
  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2007-02/msg00138.html



*** These are copyright issues still to be addressed:


Maybe some relevant comments here?
<http://groups.google.com/group/linux.debian.legal/browse_thread/thread/123547ea95437a1f>


All README (and other such files) that are non-trivial and were added
by Emacs developers need copyright statements and copying permissions.
  missed any?
  etc/BABYL?
  lisp/term/README?
  borderline "trivial" cases (see below)...?
These should use the standard GPL text (same as .el files), rather
than the short notices we have been using till now.
rms: "If a README file is under 60 lines long, using the long version
might be ugly. Please tell me if you encounter one that is under 60
lines."


Clarify the legal status of image files. It's not necessary to put a
notice in each image (where the format allows it). It's OK to put the
information in a README file in the associated directory. Files can be
listed in groups. See etc/README for an example.
Image files to consider:
 etc/images/gnus/bar, dead, gnntg, gnus-pointer, gnus, important,
                 kill-group, reverse-smile, rot13,
                 toggle-subscription, unimportant
 etc/images/smilies/
rms: "Can you find this by searching for items in copyright.list that
assign images for Emacs?" [this suggests we ask Bill Wohler]


admin/check-doc-strings
  Author is Martin Buchholz, but no assignment from him on file, and
  rms has no way to reach him.
etc/ms-kermit - no copyright, but ms-7bkermit has one
etc/e/eterm-color.ti  - no copyright
  rms: "I think that is not copyrightable under the merger doctrine
  because the entries are all forced. At least that is the case in the
  US; I am not sure whether we can rely on that in general."

For the above files, mail sent from rms to Matthew Norwood
asking what to do (via Eben Moglen), 2007/1/22 ("Copyright years").


lib-src/etags.c - no 'k.* arnold' in copyright.list'
 rms: "That is ok, in principle. I used free code released by Ken
 Arnold as the starting point. However, it may be that we need to get
 and insert whatever his license was for his code."

 - 1984 version of ctags, with no copyright, posted to net.sources:
   http://groups.google.com/group/net.sources/msg/a21b6c21be12a98d


lwlib/lwlib-int.h, lwlib.h - no copyright
lwlib/Makefile.in, lwlib-utils.c, lwlib.c - copyright Lucid
lwlib/lwlib-Xaw.c - copyright Chuck Thompson
lwlib/lwlib.c - copyright Lucid, but FSF copyright was added in 2002 -
   was that correct?
  rms: "I asked Matthew Norwood about these, I believe."


oldXMenu/
 - should there be any FSF copyrights at all in here? Some were added
   in 2005, without licence notices. Was this right?
oldXMenu/Makefile.in, Makefile, Imakefile, descrip.mms, insque.c
  - issues described in mail to rms, 2006/12/17.
rms: "I have asked for lawyer's advice about these."


src/gnu.h
src/m/mips4.h, news-r6.h, news-risc.h, pmax.h
src/s/aix3-2.h, bsd386.h, hpux8.h, hpux9.h, irix4-0.h, irix5-0.h,
isc2-2.h, netbsd.h, osf1.h, sol2-3.h, sunos4-0.h, umips.h, usg5-4-2.h
  - all these (not obviously trivial) files are missing copyrights.
  rms: "I should talk about these with Matthew Norwood."
The current legal advice seems to be that we should attach FSF
copyright and GPL for the time being, then review post-release. But it
is still under discussion.


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