[fpc-pascal] Re: Embedded web server

[Jonas Maebe]

On 25 Feb 2011, at 12:49, Ben wrote:

> I'll try and contact the original author to see if he can accommodate
> the FPC project with that code.

Acceptable licenses include a modified LGPL license (modified as  
described in http://svn.freepascal.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/trunk/rtl/COPYING.FPC?revision=1 
  ) and a BSD license without the advertising clause (such as the  
"Modified BSD License" or "New BSD License").

> Or should someone with a more official
> capacity (part of FPC team) rather contact the author?

It doesn't matter.

> On the other hand... A webserver is a defined algorithm: sockets, TCP,
> HTTP, CGI etc... so any web server implementation would essentially  
> end
> up being very similar to the same really. So can a software licence
> really be applied to something like that [webserver functionality -
> implemented protocols]?

Copyright (which forms the basis for such software licenses) cannot  
not apply to "webserver functionality" nor to "implemented protocols".  
It does apply to a concrete implementation thereof though. Even if two  
people independently writing a web server would end up with exactly  
the same code, both programs would be copyrighted by their respective  
authors and they alone would be able to determine under what terms the  
copy they wrote themselves could be distributed/used.

There are limitations as to what can constitute a "creative work" that  
qualifies for copyright protection (e.g., it's unlikely that a regular  
"hello world" program would), but a complete webserver implementation  
almost certainly does in pretty much every jurisdiction.


Jonas