Copyleft ( English copyleft - license ) - a license that [1] :
- allows you to use the original (source) work when creating new ( derivative ) works without obtaining permission from the copyright holder;
- requires that two items of this list be present in the derivative work license.
The term “copyleft” is derived from the term “ copyright ” (see below ).
Using "copyleft" licenses, authors and copyright holders grant distribution rights to copies of the original work and its modified versions. Authors of a derivative work are required to distribute it with the same rights. In other words, using a “copyleft” license allows you to create a free work.
The work may be, for example, a computer program . In this case, all modified and extended versions of the program must be free [2] .
Traditionally, authors have restricted the freedom to copy their works, and these restrictions are reflected in copyright laws . Copyleft licenses were created to expand the rights and freedoms of people without violating applicable laws. Rightholders use the concept of copyleft so that anyone in the world has the right to use, modify and distribute both the original work and works derived from it, and no one could limit this right.
Typically, a “copyleft” license requires all derivative works to be distributed under the same license as the original work. To counter license diversity, sometimes compatibility with copyleft licenses is not fully compatible.
Copyleft Licenses Created for Distribution:
- software
- information ;
- databases .
The words “ Share-alike ” in the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license name indicate that this license is a copyleft license.
Content
Etymology
“Copyleft” ( English copyleft ) is a compound word formed from two words:
- copy - instance, copy.
- left - left, left.
Copy right - one of the rights granted by the author of a work (one of copyright ) - is called “ copyright ” in English , so “copyleft” can be conditionally translated as “copyright left” (sometimes they say so - in contrast to the term “copyright” ) There is a play on words : “ right ” is a homonym in English meaning:
- law in the legal sense;
- the concept of “right” ( right ), indicating the relative spatial arrangement of the parties.
The English word “ left ” is translated as “left” (“ left ”), and is also a past participle from “leave” - “abandoned”, “remaining”, but the word “ left ” from “copyleft” is not connected with the verb “ to leave " [3] .
Origins
The concept of "copyleft" originated among IT professionals - primarily programmers . The author of the concept is Richard Stallman , an American programmer , organizer and chief apologist for the Free Software Movement (STR).
In the understanding of STR supporters, the idea of “copyleft” is that everyone who distributes the program with or without changes has no right to restrict the freedom of its further distribution or modification. “Copyleft” license ensures that each user is free in their actions. In this non-legal sense, “copyleft” is the opposite of copyright .
The most famous and common “copyleft” license is the GPL from the GNU project .
Free license
Symbol
The “copyleft” symbol is the letter “c” written in mirror image along the vertical axis inside the circle (mirror reflection on the vertical axis of the copyright symbol “©” ). The character was not available in the Unicode standard until version 11.0, but could be obtained using the character U + 2184 ↄ latin small letter reversed c (HTML ↄ ) [4] or the more widely available character U + 0254 ɔ latin small letter open o (HTML ɔ ) [5] enclosed in parentheses, or, if supported by the application, combining one of these characters with the character U + 20DD ⃝ combining enclosing circle (HTML ⃝ ) [6] .
With the release of version 11.0, the symbol U + 1F12F 🄯 copyleft sign (HTML 🄯 ) [7] became available.
Also, the copyleft symbol can be included in HTML using the following code (works only for browsers that fully or experimentally support the CSS3 "transform" property or Microsoft's BasicImage filter):
<! - [if lte IE 8]>
<span style = "
filter: progid: DXImageTransform.Microsoft.BasicImage (rotation = 2);
display: inline-block;
">
<! [endif] ->
< span style = "
-webkit-transform: scaleX (-1);
-moz-transform: scaleX (-1);
-o-transform: scaleX (-1);
-khtml-transform: scaleX (-1);
-ms-transform: scaleX (-1);
transform: scaleX (-1);
display: inline-block;
" >
& copy;
</ span >
<! - [if lte IE 8]>
</span>
<! [endif] ->
See also
- Copyright
- Copyright
- Viral license
- Free software
- Permanent Free Software License
- Scientific Piracy
Notes
- ↑ The fog of copyleft, 2006 .
- ↑ What is Copyleft? / GNU Project / Free Software Foundation .
- ↑ What is copyleft? . Free Software Foundation, Inc. (August 26, 2008). Date of treatment April 18, 2009. Archived August 21, 2011.
- ↑ Description of the U + 2184 symbol
- ↑ Character description U + 0254 (English)
- ↑ Character description U + 20DD (English)
- ↑ Unicode Character 'COPYLEFT SYMBOL' (U + 1F12F) unspecified . www.fileformat.info. Date of treatment April 23, 2019.
Links
- www.gnu.org: What is copyleft? /gnu.org. The explanation is given in relation to computer programs, but licenses of the GNU project are often applied in the non-computer sphere.
- Speech in support of the practice of “copyleft” in the program “Vote Right” [ specify ] // youtube.com
- Krowne A., Puzio R. The fog of copyleft (English) // First Monday : magazine. - 2006. - Vol. 11 , no. 7 . - ISSN 1396-0466 .