Copyright vs. Copyleft (2007)
Copyrights protect authors from unauthorized copying or selling of their work, while Copyleft allows for modification and distribution of software or documentation back to the community. A Copyleft ensures that the source code and freedoms are legally inseparable, and all modifications must be made free. This protects the open source community from commercial or proprietary use of the software or documentation.
- ▪Copyrights protect authors from unauthorized copying or selling of their work.
- ▪A Copyleft provides a method for software or documentation to be modified and distributed back to the community.
- ▪The GNU Free Documentation License gives everyone the rights to use, modify, and redistribute the code, but only if the distribution terms remain unchanged.
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3. Copyright vs. Copyleft Copyrights exist in order to protect authors of documentation or software from unauthorized copying or selling of their work. A copyright infers that only with the author's permission may such activities take place. A Copyleft, on the other hand, provides a method for software or documentation to be modified, and distributed back to the community, provided it remains Libre. In the case of Libre Documentation, an author can place his or her copyright into the document, and use distribution terms, such as those in the GNU Free Documentation License, which gives everyone the rights to use, modify, and redistribute the code, but only if those distribution terms remain unchanged. This ensures that the source code and the freedoms are legally inseparable.
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