Re: [Balloon] Balloon Open Hardware Licence

On Feb 23 2007, Stephen Afande wrote:

> I'm also not a lawyer but the use of the Hardware Design Files in the
> public domain depends on the license itself. They can be in the public
> domain and still be subject to a license or other use restrictions (eg,
> like books in a library).

But most books in an average library are not in the public domain. They are
copyright works and as such can be protected by a copyright licence. Books
usually have a notice near the front saying things like 'All rights
reserved' and 'No part of this publication may be duplicated, stored in a
retrieval syetem...' etc.

A work is only in the public domain if it is no longer subject to
copyright, which may happen 70 years after the death of the author*, or if
the author (or copyright holder) explicitly declares it to be placed in the
public domain. (In the US works that failed to have a propper copyright
attribution were automatically in the public domain, but that has now
changed.)

* The publisher may retain copyright in the layout of the content
(typesetting)
but not to the content itself.

(PS. I am still not a lawyer...)


Paul.


Paul Fidler
--
Cambridge University Engineering Department | Tel: +44 1223 332816
Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK | Fax: +44 1223 332662