The problem with “public domain” (and this is something I did not know when I put SQLite in the public domain in 2001) is that some jurisdictions (ex: Germany) do not recognize the right of an author to dedicate a work to the public domain. I can say “this is in the public domain” all I want, but my words will not be legally binding in a German court, I’m told. The only way for me to get rid of the copyright on SQLite is to die, something I’m not planning to do in the near term.
Re:Well
Aristotle on 2007-04-27T18:00:19
Which is what he does, as he goes on to write later.
I know about the philosophical difference between the laws – a literal translation of “Urheberrecht” would be something like “author’s right.” Contrast that with the literal meaning of the word “copyright” and you get the right idea: one is about innate rights associated with the creation of a work, the other is about rights over its replication. Obviously, you can’t sensibly declare that you are no longer the creator of something you created, whereas you can sensibly declare that you no longer wish to control its replication.
I just thought that his deadpan way of “declining” was funny.
Re:laws are funny like that
Aristotle on 2007-04-28T17:04:26
I know. The best option if you want to do something like that is to put things under MIT licence, which works the same way in pretty well every jurisdiction.
