[fpc-devel] DOS GUI

[Tomas Hajny]

On Tue, January 14, 2014 15:38, Mark Morgan Lloyd wrote:
> Hans-Peter Diettrich wrote:
>
>>> If the owner wants that not to happen,, choose any of these licenses
>>> mentioned.
>>> This is really important. Without huge legal fees I can't get my
>>> intellectual property  back....
>>
>> Sorry, that's nonsense. You still have all rights on your own software,
>> no need to get anything "back". Even in outdated Copyright terms a "use
>> as you like" should not mean "take ownership".
>
> I don't think that's necessarily the case. If you don't make a clear
> statement of ownership in every accessible file then it's difficult to
> claim that it's not in the public domain (or "res nullius"), that's why
> classic IBM operating systems and HP calculator firmware are now being
> distributed freely.

Even if it is in the public domain, you don't need to do anything to be
able to use it (you can use it as well as anybody else). On the other
hand, if you want to keep the licence terms under your control, you indeed
need to choose an appropriate licence first.

Tomas