Re: [Fsfe-uk] re: distribution without copyright

[Lee Braiden]

Chris Croughton wrote:

> On Tue, Nov 23, 2004 at 05:34:31PM +0000, Lee Braiden wrote:
>  
>
> > But that making the very big assumption that you *do have* a copy.  If 
> > someone *else* has a copy, they are not even required to supply it to 
> > you, never mind supply it in tact.
> >    
>
> Very true -- no one is ever required to supply their thoughts to you in
> any form.
You misunderstand.  I'm not talking about the creator of a work giving 
you a copy.  For all intents and purposes in this discussion, we can 
assume that a work which is not kept private is intended to be 
distributed by the author.

It is the *distributor(s)* that I'm discussing.  With no copyright law, 
*they* have no need to supply an intact copy of what you ask them to 
distribute; no need to keep your name on it; nothing preventing them 
from profiting from your work as soon as you try to give it to 
*anyone*.  In effect, it could become impossible to publish anything, 
never mind  supplying it to most people who want it along with the 
sourcecode, or making a living from it.

- Lee.