On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:58:55 +0100 Diego Biurrun wrote: > On Wed, Nov 15, 2006 at 11:18:12PM +0100, Francesco Poli wrote: [...] > > I'm not saying that you should insert a copyright and permission > > notice *inside* the `mmx.h' file: I'm just suggesting that you > > document where it came from and that the work you took it from is > > available under the GNU GPL. This could well be documented in a > > separate file (for the Debian package the right place is the > > debian/copyright file, for the upstream package some README file > > could do...). Once this is done, we can stop guessing about the > > copyrightability of `mmx.h', I think... > > > > I hope this clarifies. > > Yes, it clarifies your train of thought, but I still think you are > confused about the underlying issue. > > The copyrightability of the new mmx.h file does not depend on where it > came from,
Of course it does not, and I am *not* claiming it does.
> nor does it depend on us documenting that fact in a
> separate file or not.
Of course documenting its origin does not influence its
copyrightability: I am *not* claiming this either.
> It depends on the content of the file first and
> foremost.
Exactly.
The point I am trying to make is that, since I am not a qualified
lawyer, I don't feel confident enough that this file is uncopyrighted.
But *we do not need* to consult a lawyer in order to solve the issue.
Why? Because we are lucky! That file comes from an (L)GPLed project,
hence there are only two possible cases:
a) the file is uncopyrighted: fine, no problems at all
b) the file is copyrighted, but is available to us under the GNU (L)GPL
(which is compatible with the mplayer license): fine, no problems at
all
What I am suggesting is just properly documenting the origin of `mmx.h'
(which, BTW, is something I recommend anyway for any external
contribution to a project...) and explicitly stating that the software
it came from (that is to say, FFmpeg) is available under the GNU (L)GPL.
This way, if a) is the case, you only documented the true origin of that
file, doing nothing wrong or bad. Should b) turn out to be the case,
everything is fine anyway and properly stated.
> Since its content is just a bunch of #define declarations
> the file is not copyrightable.
I understand that you are quite sure the file is not copyrightable.
Simply put, I am not as sure...
But, as I repeatedly stated, we don't need to determine the
copyrightability of this file, in order to solve the issue.
--
But it is also tradition that times *must* and always
do change, my friend. -- from _Coming to America_
..................................................... Francesco Poli .
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