Re: [LAD] students and copyright

Arnout Engelen wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 02, 2009 at 02:20:15PM +0200, Ralf Mardorf wrote:
>
>> Arnout Engelen wrote:
>>
>>> If you don't have the copyright to a piece of code you wrote, for example
>>> because you wrote it for your employer, then this means you are *not allowed*
>>> to distribute this code. Not under the GPL, and not under whatever
>>> other license either.
>>>
>>> To distribute the code, you must either get the copyright on the work back,
>>> or get permission from the actual copyright holder (employer, institution) to
>>> do so.
>>>
>> You misunderstood my broken English. GPL only allows a copyleft, that's
>> why no institute or professor can use GPL licensed code and take on the
>> copyright.
>>
>> I don't think any institute is allowed to take on a copyright by using GPL
>> licensed code.
>>
>
> Example.
>
> Say I'm employed, and I'm working on some project for my employer. I download
> some GPL'ed code, and write some nontrivial additions to it.
>
> This now means the institution has the copyright on the code I wrote. If I'd
> want to distribute this software, I'd need 2 things:
> 1) distribute it under the GPL
> 2) ask my employer to either:
> a) grant me my copyright back on the additions
> b) give me permission to distribute the software under the GPL
>
> If I wouldn't do (1), I would violate the copyright of the original author of
> the GPL'ed code I download.
>
> If I wouldn't do (2), I would violate the copyright of my employer.
>
> In other words, if my employer doesn't give me permission to distribute the
> work I did for him, I cannot distribute it at all, regardless of the GPL.
> The instition is still bound by the GPL though, so they can't distribute the
> software under anything other than the GPL - but they can still choose not to
> distribute at all.
>
>
> Arnout
>

Easy to understand examples, thank you. Yes, this is what I mean by my
post, using GPL code means that nobody can take on the copyright without
violating the GPL.
_______________________________________________
Linux-audio-dev mailing list
Linux-audio-dev@email-addr-hidden
http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
Received on Sun Aug 2 20:15:03 2009