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- Xref: sparky comp.unix.bsd:10258 alt.suit.att-bsdi:666 misc.legal.computing:2385 misc.int-property:1556
- Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd,alt.suit.att-bsdi,misc.legal.computing,misc.int-property
- Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!news.funet.fi!funic!nntp.hut.fi!usenet
- From: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
- Subject: Re: AT&T/USL CD-ROM Review Process
- In-Reply-To: terry@cs.weber.edu (A Wizard of Earth C)
- Message-ID: <1992Dec15.223317.158@nntp.hut.fi>
- Sender: usenet@nntp.hut.fi (Usenet pseudouser id)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: lusmu.cs.hut.fi
- Reply-To: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
- Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
- References: <1ge0aaINNm4d@neuro.usc.edu> <1992Dec13.165418.5021@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <1992Dec13.183240.23944@blaze.cs.jhu.edu> <1992Dec14.165913.6896@fcom.cc.utah.edu>
- Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 22:33:17 GMT
- Lines: 26
-
- In article <1992Dec14.165913.6896@fcom.cc.utah.edu>, terry@cs (A Wizard of Earth C) writes:
- >Second, Linux is arguably more like SVR3 (and by extension SVR4) than
- >386BSD; this, I believe, puts it in more danger of censure. The thing
- >that has protected Linux so far is its international (non-US) origin.
- >This is not something USL has to worry about forever, it's simply an
- >inconvenience to prosecution, not a barrier. If a judgement were given
- >regarding copyright infringement by Linux against USL's materials, it
- >wouldn't matter that the judgement occurred in the US; Linus' government
- >would be forced by the Berne convention to uphold the judgement.
-
- Is this really so? I don't think so, but what do I know. First, I
- think Berne is much more limited than the current trend of the U.S.
- application of copyright laws to just about anything. Second, as
- Linux's country of origin is Finland I think it would be the Finnish
- laws that would apply, not U.S.
-
- >I think a company pressing a CDROM in the US would provide a convenient
- >(and less expensive for USL) target of prosecution for such infringment,
- >and thus perhaps provide a vehicle for establishing an anti-Linux
- >judgement. A CDROM publisher is a hell of a lot more likely to plead
- >_nolo_contendre_ (no contest) in return for limited damage claims.
-
- But how would this stop distribution of Linux? Perhaps in USA, but
- elsewhere?
-
- //Jyrki
-