Re: PathSearchAndQualify patch not applied?

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, Keef Aragon wrote:

> That is not necessarily true.A contributor of a patch does, in fact,
> own copyright to the code which their patch creates.This is why
> several features are unavailable in XFree86 as some contributors chose
> to revoke their code with the license change and move over to X11.org
> which remains on GPL.However, if you write a patch for a chunk of code
> under a license like the GPL, which addresses derivative works, your
> patch is bound to the GPL as well.While you hold full ownership and
> copyright of the code, under the terms of the GPL, you are required to
> oblige to the license being used in code being patched...Which in the
> case of the GPL (can I type GPL one more time? :-) ), means that while
> you own your code, it has to be releasedunder the GPL with all of the
> necessary comments and/or documentation, etc,And users can use and
> derive from your work all they want because your patch must be kept
> open, as long as they too, use the GPL.
> 
> Keef Aragon

I am not a legal expert and no one should use what I write as definitive 
legal advice without checking their particular circumstances with a legal 
expert.

My legal comments are specific to the case originally presented here.  If 
a company such as TG produces a body of work, it has the right to fix bugs 
in that work and implement functions which were not meant to remain 
unimplemented.  No patch of yours can take away that right from them.  
Neither are they obliged to deviate from your way of implementing 
something in their code simply because you were in a position to implement 
that something before them.

Most patches do precisely that.  They fix unintentional bugs or implement 
missing functionality which would probably have been implemented in 
future.

Your XFree86 example, I assume, relates to work done to produce a 
distinct product.  The people who contributed to producing that product 
may have copyright over parts of that product which they were responsible 
for.  Point2Play is a product which may be packaged with Cedega.  If you 
were to produce a different GUI you could claim copyright over your GUI.  
But you cannot stop TG from fixing their GUI.

Copyright does exist in many situations, but it does not apply in every 
situation.  In particular, copyright does not apply when it is impractical 
to enforce it.  

Nadav Frum
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