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- Path: longway!std-unix
- From: jpn@genrad.com (John P. Nelson)
- Newsgroups: comp.std.unix
- Subject: Re: A "public domain" set of include files.
- Message-ID: <260@longway.TIC.COM>
- Date: 11 Nov 88 20:33:31 GMT
- References: <255@longway.TIC.COM>
- Sender: std-unix@longway.TIC.COM
- Reply-To: jpn@genrad.com (John P. Nelson)
- Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
- Lines: 36
- Approved: jsq@longway.tic.com (Moderator, John S. Quarterman)
-
- From: jpn@genrad.com (John P. Nelson)
-
- >I have been wondering, for some time, about the status of the files in the
- >/usr/include directory. It would seem to me, that these files are the
- >property of AT&T, and as such, cannot be distributed without a licence.
-
- While they fall under the copyright rules, they do NOT fall under the
- more restrictive "TRADE SECRET" rules, because they are available to the
- normal binary licensee.
-
- >As an example, consider the following;
- > if ((ip->i_mode & IFMT) == IFDIR)
- > /* something */;
- >
- >This is a fairly standard piece of code. When RMS et al, produce a CERTIFIED
- >AT&T-free kernel, it would seem to me, that this code CANNOT be included in
- >any of the utilities, because it is using AT&T definitions.
-
- Not quite. If the definitions of these macros is contained in the MANUALS
- (i.e. the SPECIFICATION), then anyone can recreate the header files from
- the specification without fear of infringing on AT&T's copyright. The
- same thing would NOT be true if it were to fall under the AT&T "trade secret"
- source contract. Of course, it would still be illegal to include verbatim
- copies of AT&T's header files.
-
- Therefore, UNIX clones are quite legally able to match the UNIX interface,
- since copyright only protects a particular EXPRESSION of an idea, not the idea
- itself.
-
- --
- john nelson
-
- UUCP: {decvax,mit-eddie}!genrad!teddy!jpn
- smail: jpn@teddy.genrad.com
-
- Volume-Number: Volume 15, Number 27
-