Copyleft

Copyleft logo

Copyleft is an innovative and deliberate use of the principles of copyright to ensure that derivative works of a piece of software or other works are released under the same copyleft terms. Rather than restricting the use and modification of copyrighted materials, copyleft ensures an open platform wherein materials can be freely used and altered, provided any derivative works maintain the same permissions.

History

The term "copyleft" traces its origin to a witty deviation from "copyright" and initially referred to the licensing terms of the GNU General Public License developed by Richard Stallman as part of the Free Software Foundation. The concept evolved when Stallman encountered a situation with Symbolics over modifications to a Lisp interpreter. Stallman had given a public domain version of his work to Symbolics. However, when he sought to access the improvements made by Symbolics, they declined. This led Stallman to create a license in 1984 to prevent such "software hoarding" activities. The idea of "copyleft" was further popularized by a note in Tiny BASIC, developed by Dr. Wang in the late 1970s, which carried the phrases "All Wrongs Reserved" and "CopyLeft."

Principles

Copyleft licensing provides an irrevocable license to any recipient of a work, granting permission for:

• Unlimited use
• Modification
• Redistribution (even for profit, under certain conditions)

However, any distributed modifications must retain the same licensing terms and be available in a modifiable form, ensuring openness.

Types of Copyleft

• Strong Copyleft: Requires that all derivative works be distributed under the same copyleft licensing. Example: GNU General Public License.
• Weak Copyleft: Allows some derivative works to be released under a different license, often used for software libraries. Examples: GNU Lesser General Public License, Mozilla Public License.

Copyleft in Other Fields

While primarily used in software, the philosophy of copyleft has transcended to other domains:

• Arts: Movements like the Libre Society and open-source record labels.
• Documentation: Such as the GNU Free Documentation License, used for Wikimd content.
• Creative Works: Creative Commons ShareAlike licenses.

Controversies and Debates

Copyleft has been at the center of numerous debates, especially concerning its "viral" nature, which mandates derivative works to also be under copyleft. Critics, including tech giants like Microsoft, liken it to a virus, given its self-replicating nature. However, advocates counter this by emphasizing that users are fully aware and accepting of these terms, unlike malicious software.

The perpetual debate revolves around the definition of "freedom." Some argue copyleft licenses prioritize collective freedom, ensuring future recipients have the same rights (freedom from proprietary constraints). In contrast, non-copyleft licenses emphasize the immediate freedom of the first recipient (freedom to create proprietary works).

Impact

Copyleft has several notable effects:

• Preventing Fragmentation: Copylefted projects, like Linux, have experienced less fragmentation than non-copyleft projects. The openness leads to a collaborative improvement rather than isolated versions.
• Encouraging Collaboration: The open nature of copyleft promotes collaborative work, pooling resources, and ideas for the betterment of the project.

See Also

• Copyright
• Intellectual property
• Copynorm
• open patent

References

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