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- Title
COPYLEFT TERMINATION: WILL THE TERMINATION PROVISION OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 UNDERMINE THE FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION'S GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE?
- Authors
Phelps, Jon L.
- Abstract
Unlike traditional copyright licenses, Free Open Source Software (FOSS) licenses have been termed copyleft rather than copyright. This is because the intention of copyleft licenses is to utilize intellectual property law to keep the source and object code of the licensed software available to anyone who would like to use it at no charge. The termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 could undermine or even destroy the FOSS movement. Potentially, licenses of FOSS programs, which are old enough for the termination provision of the Copyright Act to apply, could be terminated as early as 2013. This article provides a brief discussion of FOSS licenses and the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976. It also describes the limitations on an author's rights in computer programs under 17 U.S.C. § 106. Finally, it presents a possible resolution, which lies in the Copyright Act's safe harbor provision for adaptation of computer software.
- Subjects
COPYRIGHT licenses; COPYRIGHT; OPEN source software; COMPUTER software; FREE Software Foundation Inc.
- Publication
Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science & Technology, 2010, Vol 50, Issue 2, p261
- ISSN
0897-1277
- Publication type
Article