Re: Thoughts about gnuplot license and copyrights

[Daniel J S. <dan...@ie...>]

Timothée Lecomte wrote:

> Well defined ? This is where maintainers arrive. "Maintainers" are the
> people who actually take care of the code, and distribute the program.
> To my mind, it's more a practical definition than a legal one. Usually
> it is the person or the group of people who decide when to release a new
> version. Currently, as the license does ask for too much restriction on
> released modified code (the patched way), the 'absolute' maintainer is
> Thomas by default, as nobody is allowed to release a new version without
> his agreement. This is the problem.

I think we're on the same page, Timothée, i.e., envisioning some loose-knit group of individuals with some authority (for what it's worth) to maintain the code and a convenient way to keep that going.  I like the way you've described it.  But it is always good, I think, to be a bit more legally conscientious (especially if the license deviates slightly from an accepted and understood license), just so the intentions are understood down the road--sort of an impartial check.  There's been some good discussion here, but come five years from now it's part of the digital ether.

Dan