Robert Mann wrote:
> Coming back to Livecode OS I'm really surprised that nobody seem to have
> considered stacks as being not only programs but multimedia interactive
> media, and the related legal stuff like copyright of these sources.
>
> That is the basic in any book publishing see :
>
https://authorservices.wiley.com/permissions%20guidelines%20for%20authors%20pdf.pdf
> https://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/ccmcguid.html
>
> And the GPL inclusion of these elements cannot be governed by the GPL
> license which only covers CODE.
>
> Again if live code see it or interpret it differently please do say so.
I suppose if your goal was to write LiveCode scripts and publish them as
a printed volume for your coffee table that might make a very good analogy.
More commonly code is used to execute instructions on a computer, and
for that it needs to intimately co-mingle in memory with the LiveCode
engine.
My earlier post I'd linked to previously was perhaps a bit long - let me
share the most relevant portion from the Drupal License FAQ page:
"If I write a module or theme, do I have to license it under
the GPL?
Yes. Drupal modules and themes are a derivative work of Drupal.
If you distribute them, you must do so under the terms of the
GPL version 2 or later."
<https://drupal.org/licensing/faq/#q7>
The sole copyright owners of LiveCode have expressed their intention
that stack files are considered "derivative works", and choosing the GPL
to express that intention seems in line with the collective counsel at
the Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal projects.
If you're able to convince counsel on those projects to change their
interpretation of the GPL please let us know.
> So far : I have both a commercial and a a Community Edition (yes no
> more open source!),
> and I can write on one and then open and keep writing on the other.
> I mean, there is no way to identify the tool used!!!
Yes, as with proprietary software it's often physically possible to
circumvent international copyright law with unauthorized distribution,
just as it's possible to sell a stolen television at a pawn shop.
Indeed, a few Wifi router vendors have found themselves in court for
using a modified Linux kernel for which they did not share their source.
Piracy comes in many forms.
But I believe there's a mandate on this list to avoid discussions that
might promote illegal activity, so I'll not pursue this further beyond
noting this:
The proprietary engine is not a binary copy of the Community Edition
engine, as it contains code to encrypt stacks. As such, while nothing
can stop someone from pirating any software, if found it would be
trivial to demonstrate in court which engine was used.
> Besides, dual licensing of the same work is fine. That one leaves
> me.. dead in kafka"s chaos!!
Again, not all that deep: under the nearly-globally-recognized Berne
Convention, the creator of an original work has ownership of that work
at the moment of creation, and has sole authority over how that work may
be used and/or distributed.
If you wish to write something similar to LiveCode from your own C
source, you would own the work and have sole authority over its
distribution terms, which may be under a single license, or a dozen, as
you choose.
But when you create a work derived from another's, your ownership is
limited to the portions you created, and may have further limitations
depending on the terms of the software used to develop and run the work.
LiveCode stack files can be distributed under a wide range of possible
licenses when created with the proprietary-licensed LiveCode engine,
provided of course the terms of whichever license you choose are
compatible with the terms of the LiveCode proprietary EULA.
For example, the MetaCard IDE was released under MIT License by the
original inventor of the engine, Dr. Scott Raney, and many of us
contributed to its maintenance and enhancement for years.
But you do not have source code to the proprietary engine, so it would
not be possible to use any license that requires you to distribute the
complete source code for an application.
If your original work is a stack file and it was made with the
proprietary LC engine, you could conceivably make it available under MIT
license, Apache, and your own proprietary license as well, and let your
users choose the license they feel best meets their needs.
But if you want to include the engine, you'll need the source.
And the source is only publicly available under one license, the GPL.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World Systems
Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
____________________________________________________________________
ambassa...@fourthworld.com http://www.FourthWorld.com
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