Re: gEDA-user: firmware and the GPL license

[DJ Delorie <dj@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > > So, to go on a tangent here, what about 'code' in the form of Gerbers
> > > and etc produced by PCB?
>
> Gerber files are a description -- a blueprint -- that just happens to
> be in machine-readable form.  They obviously don't need to be derived
> from PCB -- you could use a normal text editor if you want.

They don't, but the OP specified that they were, so I answered in that
context.

> I never understood the issue of footprints.  All one has to do is
> bust out a micrometer and hand-enter the data yourself to make a
> footprint right inside PCB.  Surely a company cannot enforce
> footprint protection, since they cannot tell the difference, from
> looking at a board, between a hand-made footprint and a re-used
> footprint.

The issue of footprints is the same as the issue of maps.  The
information portrayed (copper layout, street location) is not
copyrightable, it's a fact.  The "artistic representation" of those
facts (i.e. the text file containing the footprint, a printed map) can
be copyrighted.  Also, a collection thereof can be copyrighted even if
the individual elements cannot.  It's not legally simple.

When and how one copies the footprints is a factor if it ever went to
court.  Remember, we're talking legal "derived" vs technical "derived".

That's why I license all my stuff so that you don't need to worry
about the license :-)


_______________________________________________
geda-user mailing list
geda-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user