Message-ID: <51CC8BA6EC01D1118E3200A024B9625B3BC0BB@mailhost.Probe.co.uk> From: Shawn Hargreaves To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Subject: Re: GPL or my own copyright? Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:30:39 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Precedence: bulk Ivan Baldo writes: > What is the difference between protecting my software with GPL > license and my own copyright? That would depend on the terms of your copyright, since you could obviously make one that was either more or less restrictive than the GPL. In general the GPL imposes quite a lot of restrictions (see recent discussion about patches to the djgpp libc) but these are all designed to make sure the software stays free and to prevent anyone from abusing it. It is up to you whether you feel happy with the GPL rules, but remember that you do always have the option of granting additional rights, like the djgpp copyright which is basically GPL but with a special permission from DJ that we can use libc more freely than a strict GPL would allow... If you are planning on making a similar copyright of your own, the GPL does have a couple of advantages: it has been carefully checked so you can be sure there are no legal loopholes, and most people are familiar enough with it that they will know exactly what is allowed as soon as they see it is GPL, rather than needing to read your exact terms in detail... Shawn Hargreaves.