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> to Gentoo. It further states that "Assignor warrants that Assignor's |
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> rights in the Work have not been previously assigned, mortgaged or |
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> otherwise encumbered, and Assignor has full right, power and authority to |
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> assign all such rights to Gentoo." |
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> |
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> It makes no provisions for things like patches, which are committed to CVS |
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> all the time, but for which the committer has no claim on the copyright. |
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> There are also a number of images committed to the gentoo repository which |
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> are used on the web site and which we have no copyright ownership of. |
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|
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Seems implicit to me. You have no right to assign things for which |
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you are not the owner. No reason to state that explicitly. So, I |
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see no problem here. Worst case, we don't have the copyright for |
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something we can't have the copyright for. |
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|
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> ("Assignor") hereby releases and assigns to Gentoo all Assignor's copyrights, |
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> ownership, and claims for the following items: |
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> |
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> source code, object code, screen displays, icons, |
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> documentation, user and developers manuals, authoring, |
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> editing, sound, photography, graphics, animation, musical |
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> composition or arrangement, design, artwork, or layout, |
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> including any advertising, brochures, video, photographs, |
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> films, or computer media relating to the Work. |
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|
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You can't copyright physical objects... It's for produced or |
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implemented works derrived from a concept. So neither a hard drive |
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nor a piece of paper on which something is written qualifies. |
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I'm pretty sure the (enforcable) intent here is for designs on |
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media and the like such as The Gentoo Store's labels and the |
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production of install CDs. |
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|
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> Additionally, given the way it's currently worded, there's no way I'm |
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> agreeing to sign it and I certainly encourage everyone else to avoid |
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> signing it as well. |
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> |
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> Corey -- have you made any progress with the IU lawyers in getting them to |
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> help us with our copyright/IP issues? We need to see about getting |
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> alternate counsel to review this document and shore up its weaknesses. |
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> |
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> [1] http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/devrel/copyright/assignment.txt |
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|
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I don't actually think it's that big of a problem. Extra council |
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wouldn't be a bad idea though. |
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|
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--NJ |
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p.s. Not a lawyer, but fond of Geico commercials. |
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