svasti wrote:We mention the copyright from 1999-2009. At that time the copyright holder was Harteg. So I find it strange that we would give under copyright 1999-2009 somebody who bought the copyright in 2012.
Looking at the issue this way, I am confused about what is correct. Actually, it's contradictory to mention (c) 1999-2009 Peter Harteg in the old license section, and (c) 1999-2009 Gert Ebersbach in the new one.
Some "facts" (IANAL):
- According to GPLv3, we are not allowed to remove or modify the original copyright section
- Peter has sold the copyright to Gert in 2012
- Stating a copyright year (or range of years) is important with regard to expiring of the copyright (e.g. X years after the death of the copyright holder)
Now let's imagine the following szenario: the copyright expires 70 years after the copyright owner's death; Peter dies in 2015. Gert dies in 2050. So, when does the copyright expire? According to the license section which must not be changed, it would be in 2085. However, Gert holds the copyright until 2120.
The only logical conclusion I can come up with (IANAL) is that Peter owns the copyright of the version of 2009 (i.e. CMSimple 3.3), and Gert owns the copyright of the following versions (i.e. CMSimple 3.4). However, the changes between 3.3 and 3.4 are so small (only a few lines without any genuine creative work) that they don't even justify their own copyright (IANAL). I wonder what counter-value Gert had received for buying the
intellectual rights. Ah, I forgot: the rights on the
name!
Anyhow,
we have not to forget:
harteg wrote:The copyright notice in all files may be modified to the name of the purchaser.
I prefer to relinquish this permission -- it's unnecessary work.
meltemi wrote:Ihr dürft Euch auf Englisch unterhalten, aber Ihr müßt es nicht ;o)
Well, we're in the English class (aka. forum) here, so: "Say it English!"