Re: [Phys-L] E-mail is copyrighted?

[Jeff Bigler <jcb@mit.edu>]

On 7/22/2012 12:53 PM, John Clement wrote:

> For those who were quick it was possible to buy some works with a full right
> to copy license.  Real Time Physics was once distributed that way.

Licensing is a separate, though related issue.  Copyright literally
means the right to decide how a work may be copied (and distributed).
If I hold the copyright on something, I am free to decide how to
distribute it, which may include licensing it to others.  Anyone else is
prohibited from distributing my works except under my terms for as long
as I hold the copyright.

For example, I place all of the classroom materials that I create under
either a Creative Commons license or a GNU Free Documentation license.
Both licenses allow anyone to copy, distribute, and create derivative
works for free, as long as the original copyright notice remains intact
and any derivative works are distributed under the same terms.  I.e., if
I as the copyright holder have declared that one of my works is to be
distributed for free, the copyright prohibits anyone else from selling
my works for profit without my explicit permission.

Jeff

-- 
Jeff Bigler
Lynn English HS; Lynn, MA, USA
"Magic" is what we call Science before we understand it.