Re: Linux 2.6.9 and the GPL Buyout

["Jeff V. Merkey" <jmerkey@mail.gadugi.org>]

On Tue, Dec 21, 2004 at 07:04:32PM +0000, David Woodhouse wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-12-20 at 15:27 -0600, Jeff V. Merkey wrote:
> > We are adopting Federal Copyright and Trademark law, and Federal Patent
> > law into our courts.  We are also enacting trade secret laws that make it
> > easier for folks to claim trade secrets on Open Source code for 
> > individual authors.  
> 
> Why? You're not a signatory to the Berne Convention and thus surely you
> don't need to honour it? You can just re-use the GPL'd code without our
> permission, and make your law permit it. You could adopt US copyright
> law with exceptions for the Linux kernel. There's precedent for such
> exceptions -- see what the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
> has to say about Peter Pan, for example:
> http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880048_en_28.htm#sdiv6
> 
> And enacting the US patent law is absurd -- why would you want to copy
> something as broken and abusable as that?
> 
> -- 
> dwmw2
> 


David,

Anyone on this list who is a Kernel Developer can sign up an account
on Ga-du-gi.org and post your own proposed legislation and draft 
language.  I will even grant you the ability to publish stories and 
commentary on the site with proposed legislation and laws to 
protect open source. 

Send an email to jmerkey@gadugi.org and say,

" Jeff, I want to post my views on Cherokee Nation legislation and my 
proposals on the adoption of Patent, Trademark, Copyright, Trade Secret,
and Intellectual Property legislation for the creation of a Sovereign
Open Source License and legal framework.  I am a Linux Kernel developer,
and I have a unique insight into the challenges and development of 
open source and my knowledge and experience are relevant to the 
proposed laws.  I would like to share my experience and knowledge 
regarding this topic to the Cherokee Nation and assist them in drafting
appropriate legislation."

and I will allow you and other Linux Community members to post 
content and proposed legal briefs on the site, and help us accomplish
this task.  The Tribal Council is slated to review drafts in early 
February.

Jeff

Jeff