Conflating different meanings of "derivative"

Posted Oct 12, 2005 20:14 UTC (Wed) by AnswerGuy (guest, #1256)
In reply to: Single-company free software by Blaisorblade
Parent article: Single-company free software

In popular vernacular the term "derivative" can mean "inspired by" (possibly with a denigrating connotation). If I say that the old TV series "The Saint" was derivative of Ian Fleming's work in a critique of it --- that would be the likely inference.

However, the term "derivative" in the context of copyright law is somewhat more specific. There has to be a substantive copying. (Not necessarily literal copying, but copying nonetheless).

Conflating "derivative" (in the more general sense of "similar to and probably or presumably inspired by) with "copied" is exactly the sort of yellow sensationalism that SCO has been attempting in their full press public case against Linux. It appears that they've tried the same in the court of law, as well. So far the latter of these fiaSCOs has apparently been wholly unsuccessful.

JimD