[tex-live] top-level licensing files

[Hans Hagen]

At 00:25 17/09/2003 +0200, Karl Berry wrote:

>- Especially (but not necessarily) if changes or additions are made, we
>recommend a title such as "TeX Live YYYY, for <your work>", where YYYY
>is the year of TeX Live you are publishing.  This credits both our work
>and yours.
>
>- You absolutely may *not* place your own copyright on the entire
>distribution, since it is not your work (as stated above, TeX Live is
>not created by any single person or entity).  Statements such as "all
>rights reserved" and "may not be reproduced" are especially
>reprehensible, since they are anthithetical to the free software
>principles under which TeX Live is produced.
>
>- You may use any cover or media label designs that you wish.  Such
>packaging and marketing details are not covered by any TeX Live license.
>
>- Finally, we make the following requests (not legal requirements):
>a) Acknowledging that TeX Live is developed as a joint effort by all TeX
>    user groups, and encouraging the user/reader joining any user group
>    of choice.
>
>    The web page http://www.tug.org/usergroups.html may be referenced as
>    a list of TeX user groups.  We also appreciate your explicitly
>    listing all the user groups given on that page, space permitting.
>
>b) Referencing the TeX Live home page: http://www.tug.org/tex-live/.
>
>c) Crediting the editor of TeX Live: Sebastian Rahtz.
>
>Such credits may be placed on the label of your media, your cover,
>and/or in accompanying text (for instance, in the acknowledgements
>section of a book).

this still permits publishers to make a verbatim copy, make their own 
cover, publish it and not mention tex live at all;

(1) Is tex live as a bundle copyrighted? (with all freedoms of using / 
copying / adapting you mention), if so, you may request that it's mentioned 
visible
(2) In order to be able to help users, if the image is used, a cd cover 
should mention (1) the name tex live, (2) the version number, (3) the 
editor, (4) url OR on te covert point to a readme where the user can find 
this info (he/she should be aware of it) OR have a proper pop up mentioning 
it.

even if we cannot demand it, i would make the suggestion much more stronger 
(keep the 'requests', omit the 'not legal req.'); if some publisher has 
doubts, he will definitely contact the team -)

So, get me right, I have no problems with copies of tex live in a book, but 
it should be recognized as such (just as a linux cdrom mentions that it is 
some brand of linux and runs on some kind of platform, what kernel is 
used); same for tex live. Actually, one may wonder when one may use the 
name TeX Live, i.e. after what changed / additions the name is no longer 
valid

Maybe TeX Live should be a trademark.

Hans
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