[R-pkg-devel] [R] a question of etiquette

[Spencer Graves]

On 2020-06-02 10:14, Adelchi Azzalini wrote:

<snip>
>
> In  general, "check the license" is a very sensible indication. In the specific case, the Matlab code comes with no licence indication - nothing.
>

       I'm not an attorney, but it's my understanding that "no license 
indication" is a legal minefield:  You can be sued for copyright 
infringement, even with anything that "comes with no license indicate - 
nothing."  For horror stories in that regard, see the Wikipedia article 
on Lawrence Lessig's "Free Culture (book) 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Culture_(book)]:  Hollywood has lots 
of money for SLAPP lawsuits, and they've used it to stifle competition.


       To me, this is in blatant violation of the Copyright Clause of 
the US Constitution, which says, "[the United States Congress shall have 
power] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing 
for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their 
respective Writings and Discoveries."[1]  However, as Lessig documented, 
the US Supreme Court disagreed.


QUESTION:  How much money have people on this list received for what 
they've written?  I've received not one penny for any technical article 
I've written or for software contributed to CRAN.


       Spencer


[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Clause
>
> Best regards,
>
> Adelchi Azzalini
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