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copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:02 am
by jurgen69
copyrights on mxlinux ?
there are none is open source
what if i make on distrowatch my own mxlinux distro's for example and my own repo on whatever or ectt.. (they are easy to pick them all up)
this distros are not making by the official mxlinux world they have making by me.. for example...
do you need the repos of mxlinux ahhhhh no you do not so everybody can take it over anytime if you want that..
not a big deal at all
example i have seen it all from phpnuke to whtever example phpnuke-dutch.org have more than i think 15 or 20 years back development its own thing ( that you have with open source every body can make a claim everyday can can make money of it two if they want it easy...
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:11 am
by asqwerth
I believe there are some translation difficulties as you are not a native speaker/reader of English and I'm half-guessing at the full meaning of your post as well as your other posts in the Community Submissions sub-board.
It might be better in this instance for you to post this in Dutch, so that those more proficient in both Dutch and English can fully understand it and translate it for the rest of us.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:21 am
by Richard
Free Libre Open Source Software
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definitio ... ware-FLOSS
Free and open source software (FOSS), also known as free/libre open source software (FLOSS) and free/open source software (F/OSS), is software developed by informal collaborative networks of programmers.
The source code is licensed free of charge, encouraging modifications and improvements.
The term free software refers to a lack of restrictions on individual users as well as zero cost; the term open source software refers to collaborative or networked development. FOSS, which embraces the benefits and adherents of both paradigms, is gaining widespread acceptance as traditional modes of software design are challenged.
The increasing popularity of FOSS has led to frustration in some circles for at least three reasons:
* Conventional software developers, distributors and sellers fear that FOSS will undercut their profits.
* Abuse of FOSS privileges may lead to questionable claims of copyright or trademark protection, thereby spawning litigation.
* The monetary value of FOSS is unclear, so governments have trouble figuring out how to tax it.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:34 am
by Jerry3904
jurgen69 wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 6:02 am
copyrights on mxlinux ?
there are none is open source
what if i make on distrowatch my own mxlinux distro's for example and my own repo on whatever or ectt.. (they are easy to pick them all up)
this distros are not making by the official mxlinux world they have making by me.. for example...
do you need the repos of mxlinux ahhhhh no you do not so everybody can take it over anytime if you want that..
not a big deal at all
There is a copyright and license on the name, however, and you are not free to use that. From our website > About us:
License
The name "MX Linux" is covered by LInux Foundation Sublicense No. 20140605-0483
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 8:29 am
by clicktician
jurgen69 wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 6:02 am
copyrights on mxlinux ?
there are none is open source
Jurgen, hi. There might be an English translation problem here, but this statement is not true.
Everything in MX and Debian is copyrighted by the creator either passively by national law (such as in the US and many other countries), or actively by legal assertion. Additionally, some things are trademarked. It's all, most definitely, someone's creative property and they own it.
For a sample of some of these copyrights, just go to /usr/share/doc/* and read some of the 1900 copyrights used in MX.
What lets you respin MX and redistribute apps is how these ownership rights are licensed. The licenses explain what the owner allows you to do with their property. Licenses vary widely and are often complicated -- way too complicated to explore here. Besides, I'm no expert.
It's not just about MX, itself. You must also be aware of the redistribution licenses for any software you have added to your MX respin. For example, I have installed several software programs, drivers, fonts, codecs, icon sets, artwork, etc... as an end user, that I am not licensed to redistribute even if they were provided at no charge. I can't take a snapshot of my MX notebook, and post it to Sourceforge because I would violate end user licenses with Oracle, VMware, Photomatix, Adobe, Avermedia, Microsoft, ITC, Nvidia, et. al.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:38 am
by JayM
clicktician wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 8:29 am
jurgen69 wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 6:02 am
copyrights on mxlinux ?
there are none is open source
Jurgen, hi. There might be an English translation problem here, but this statement is not true.
Everything in MX and Debian is copyrighted by the creator either passively by national law (such as in the US and many other countries), or actively by legal assertion. Additionally, some things are trademarked. It's all, most definitely, someone's creative property and they own it.
For a sample of some of these copyrights, just go to /usr/share/doc/* and read some of the 1900 copyrights used in MX.
What lets you respin MX and redistribute apps is how these ownership rights are licensed. The licenses explain what the owner allows you to do with their property. Licenses vary widely and are often complicated -- way too complicated to explore here. Besides, I'm no expert.
It's not just about MX, itself. You must also be aware of the redistribution licenses for any software you have added to your MX respin. For example, I have installed several software programs, drivers, fonts, codecs, icon sets, artwork, etc... as an end user, that I am not licensed to redistribute even if they were provided at no charge. I can't take a snapshot of my MX notebook, and post it to Sourceforge because I would violate end user licenses with Oracle, VMware, Photomatix, Adobe, Avermedia, Microsoft, ITC, Nvidia, et. al.
Which is exactly the sort of legal mumbo-jumbo that the free/open source movement was originally supposed to be trying to get away from. I should be able to take MX Linux or any other distro, or any application or other package, improve upon it, alter it, and release it however I like free of restrictive licensing or other legal liabilities as long as I make all source code available for free, and be able to do all this without having to hire a team of lawyers first. No single respinner has the time or expertise to analyze 12,00-plus separate licensing documents (the content of /usr/share/docs) to determine his or her legal rights, responsibilities and liabilities.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:47 am
by anticapitalista
I think this is a useful summary and I think is mainly accurate. (I'm also not a lawyer)
You cannot include proprietary software and release it since it violates the GPL and the 'rights' of the owner of the proprietary software, unless you have their permission to do so. eg firmware included in Debian non-free repo.
You cannot use the name MX Linux or Linux Mint et al without their permission since those names are copyright.
You cannot use icons, background images that are not covered by the GPL without the owners permission since they are copyright.
You can include any non-proprietary software as long as it complies with the GPL.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:48 am
by richb
I am not in any way expert in these legalities. But Linux itself is licensed, with all the legal terminology. MX is covered under the LInux Foundation Sublicense No. 20140605-0483, as stated in an an earlier post.
https://www.linuxmark.org/programs/lega ... -agreement
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:53 am
by asqwerth
JayM wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:38 am
Which is exactly the sort of legal mumbo-jumbo that the free/open source movement was originally supposed to be trying to get away from. I should be able to take MX Linux or any other distro, or any application or other package, improve upon it, alter it, and release it however I like free of restrictive licensing or other legal liabilities as long as I make all source code available for free, and be able to do all this without having to hire a team of lawyers first. No single respinner has the time or expertise to analyze 12,00-plus separate licensing documents (the content of /usr/share/docs) to determine his or her legal rights, responsibilities and liabilities.
Uh-uh. You forget that if something described as open-source is completely public domain, ie, no one has any rights over it, it also means that the creation could be preempted by proprietary/commercial concerns, modded, and then the modded version could be copyrighted under the commercial party's restrictive terms without any requirement for the source code (of the mods) to be made open/available. It becomes closed source.
So it's the open source Licence Terms (yes, legal mumbo jumbo) that stops commercial entities from taking advantage and abusing open source creations.
By actually placing a creation under a proper open source licence, it actually protects users because it sets the rules under which the creation can be used, modded, distributed, even sold.
Often artistic creations like icons and themes are licenced under Creative Commons licences, rather than GPL, that allow the creation to be openly shared, modded and distributed so long as the mods are also licenced under the same CC terms, and the original creator is given attribution/credit for the original creation. That's OK in my book.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:06 am
by manyroads
It is worth noting there is (in the US) a doctrine of "Fair Use" that adds to this legal clarity.
I use it all the time in my genealogy work and publications. Here from the center of human knowledge is a definition:
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fair_use
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:10 am
by GuiGuy
asqwerth wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:53 am........
...stops commercial entities from taking advantage and abusing open source creations
....
Shame it did not stop a certain "do no evil?" outfit from using the Linux kernel in their proprietary and highly restrictive mobile phone OS.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:14 am
by Adrian
GuiGuy wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:10 am
asqwerth wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:53 am........
...stops commercial entities from taking advantage and abusing open source creations
....
Shame it did not stop a certain "do no evil?" outfit from using the Linux kernel in their proprietary and highly restrictive mobile phone OS.
Would you prefer Android use something else? I for one am happy they use Linux, that's the point of one source and GPL they contribute back with changes it doesn't matter where you use it. They do have Fuschia in the plans, I'm not excited about Linux losing a market of billion of devices...
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:24 am
by GuiGuy
I take your point Adrian, but I really hate Google's ownership of my phone which I paid money for.
Wish I could find an alternative...
.
Edit: Just to be clear, IMO Apple are even worse.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:26 am
by Adrian
GuiGuy wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:24 am
I take your point Adrian, but I really hate Google's ownership of my phone which I paid money for.
Wish I could find an alternative...
.
It sounds like the choice is yours... if you are so picky about the companies that make your products you need to vote with your wallet.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:38 am
by asqwerth
GuiGuy wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:24 am
I take your point Adrian, but I really hate Google's ownership of my phone which I paid money for.
Wish I could find an alternative...
.
Edit: Just to be clear, IMO Apple are even worse.
You can find custom images that use only the open source part of the Android kernel and OS, and avoid all the Google apps. It's the Google apps and Play store part that aren't open source.
https://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/liberate.en.html
https://beebom.com/best-custom-roms-android-phones/
Disclaimer: I haven't rooted a phone and flashed anything onto my Android phone since my HTC Hero and Nexus One phones! So I'm quite out of touch.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:39 am
by GuiGuy
I am not competent to root a phone.
I regret starting this rant now, so hereby end it.
Edit:-
By "this rant" I mean the off-topic branch starting at #11 above.
I am not jurgen69, the OP of the topic.
Re: copyrights on mxlinux ?
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:10 am
by Jerry3904
Let me end it with
the official statement that was incorporated into the new website for the first time:
Branding
Trademark
The name “MX Linux” is covered by Linux Foundation Sublicense No. 20140605-0483. It is available for fair use in artistic, promotional and informational contexts.
Restrictions
Anyone distributing a respin that we do not host ourselves must specify that it is a respin in the names of a website, ISO or download location. For example: mx-respin. Furthermore, it must be specified clearly somewhere that products are based on MX Linux but are not connected with it in any official way.
The name “MX Linux” may not be used as part of a respin-project’s website title or in the project’s iso/media without making clear that the it is not an official part of MX Linux.
Logo and art work
As with the name, the logos and art work are also available for fair use, including artistic redesigns, except in a commercial context. They are subject to the same restrictions applicable to the trademark and the name.