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| author | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2007-05-24 00:14:17 +0000 |
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| committer | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2007-05-24 00:14:17 +0000 |
| commit | a3a70ebafd7f2fdc069d43e8a26fc246dd7fe5bb (patch) | |
| tree | 5f0e8ba28c7c752816c490f5d46f3feb05bf5428 /doc | |
| parent | 25a403fc2286eec2666b551055186c5043cce029 (diff) | |
| download | gnulib-a3a70ebafd7f2fdc069d43e8a26fc246dd7fe5bb.tar.gz | |
autoupdate
Diffstat (limited to 'doc')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/maintain.texi | 21 |
1 files changed, 20 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/doc/maintain.texi b/doc/maintain.texi index cb6609884c..6e0c3b1d9d 100644 --- a/doc/maintain.texi +++ b/doc/maintain.texi @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ @c For double-sided printing, uncomment: @c @setchapternewpage odd @c This date is automagically updated when you save this file: -@set lastupdate March 8, 2007 +@set lastupdate May 23, 2007 @c %**end of header @dircategory GNU organization @@ -446,6 +446,24 @@ and list them as the contributors of the code that you copied. If all you did was copy it, not write it, then for copyright purposes you are @emph{not} one of the contributors of @emph{this} code. +Especially when code has been released into the public domain, authors +sometimes fail to write a license statement in each file. In this +case, please first be sure that all the authors of the code have +disclaimed copyright interest. Then, when copying the new files into +your project, add a brief note at the beginning of the files recording +the authors, the public domain status, and anything else relevant. + +On the other hand, when merging some public domain code into an +existing file covered by the GPL (or LGPL or other free software +license), there is no reason to indicate the pieces which are public +domain. The notice saying that the whole file is under the GPL (or +other license) is legally sufficient. + +Using code that is released under a GPL-compatible free license, +rather than being in the public domain, may require preserving +copyright notices or other steps. Of course, you should do what is +needed. + If you are maintaining an FSF-copyrighted package, please verify we have papers for the code you are copying, @emph{before} copying it. If you are copying from another FSF-copyrighted package, then we @@ -462,6 +480,7 @@ doesn't mean it is ok to do without them. If you cannot get papers for the code, you can only use it as an external library (@pxref{External Libraries}). + @node Copyright Notices @section Copyright Notices @cindex copyright notices in program files |