Wrong with copyright law

Wrong with copyright law

Posted May 4, 2008 18:53 UTC (Sun) by dvdeug (subscriber, #10998)
Parent article: Deluded SCO CEO on witness stand: "Linux is a copy of UNIX" (ars technica)

The article says:

"We use the one line of code rule. If you took one line of code from UnixWare and used it in a derivative work, that work would become subject to a UnixWare license," Maciaszek said.

After that beautiful quotation which highlights everything wrong with the way copyright law works in today's world, Maciaszek stepped down.

That's completely wrong. It has nothing to do with copyright law; except in exceptional cases, one line of code does not make a copyrightable fragment. That was the rule that SCO used; whether it was explicitly backed up a license signed by both parties, or simple intimidation, it's not what copyright law requires.

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