Re: PathSearchAndQualify patch not applied?

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 [email protected] wrote:

> Between the various components of WineX now known as Cedega, three
> different licenses are used.The Aladdin License, the GNU LGPL, and
> Transgaming's own Rewind license which doesn't address derivative works
> at all.Nadav - I hate to break it to you, but a contributor's patch
> and everything it constitutes under the licenses which cover the
> entirety of Cedega, is legal copyright of the author regardless of
> whether they advertise it or not.On a side note, advertisement of work
> does not void any legal copyright.That's like saying you're painting
> is no longer copyright because it was published in a magazine.Any
> patches are considered derivative works if they use ANY of the WineX
> includes, libraries, or other source found within.These licenses grant
> the user the right to release their derivative work ... the patch,
> provided that it is released under the same license which the component
> being patched is released.So as a matter of fact, any patch you write
> and send to Transgaming is *LEGALLY* yours and copyright by YOU.
> However, under the licenses provided, it has to remain licensed in a
> fashion that TG can re-derive your work and re-release it giving you due
> credit in the source... That does not change the legal copyright holder
> of the code, it simply removes the copyright holder's right to restrict
> use of their patch.But *no action* under the licenses of Cedega will
> void an author's legal ownership and copyright of the code produced, it
> only limits the power they have with that ownership *and* copyright.

You still don't understand.  You can hold copyright over something if and 
only if it is unique in some way.  If you cannot identify anything in your 
patch that is unique and yours, you cannot stop someone else from copying 
it.

A painter clearly has no problem identifying the uniqueness of his/her 
creation.

You can slap all the licenses you want onto your patches.  You still have 
to identify that essential quality in your patch that others are 
prohibited from reproducing.  In the real world that quality about your 
work may have commercial value so you have to be very sure about what you 
are copyrighting.  If it has value you may need to defend your title over 
whatever you think is yours, against others who claim they have done 
something similar before.

The Linux MMORPG is not the real world.  People work for free and they 
have notional copyrights.  As long as we are playing games you can make 
whatever rules you want.  Just make sure you never bring your games to 
a real judge.

Nadav Frum
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