And... can you enforce copyright on such a program?
No, because the FSF owns the copyright. They have to do it.
Or maybe the program has mixed copyright (you and the FSF), in which case the same problem (and solution) applies for mixed-copyright software.
So how exactly, does assigning copyright to the FSF make anything better for anyone? It helps the FSF, sure. But everyone else (including the author) is negatively impacted by it.
In contrast, if copyright remains with the author, then the only thing the FSF would lose is the ability to sue for infringement of the code you contributed.
They could still sue for infringement of the code that they own.
> So how exactly, does assigning copyright to the FSF make anything better for anyone? It helps the FSF, sure. But everyone else (including the author) is negatively impacted by it.
The author assigning the copyright benefits from GPL enforcement---enforcement they likely would not have the resources to do themselves.
The code is still free software; the author can continue to use it in other free software projects. Do you have a specific situation in mind where the author might want to still have copyright (aside from a matter of principle) so we can focus on that for discussion?
My use-case is that I want to use the code I write as I see fit, using all of the rights I have available to me. If I assign copyright to the FSF, I lose many of those rights.
So no, it's not about a specific situation. It's about the principle of the thing.
i.e. if the FSF can be founded on the principle of freedom, why can't I claim to believe in the principle of freedom too? And why do I have to give up my rights under the law, in order to give the FSF more freedom for themselves?
> The author assigning the copyright benefits from GPL enforcement---enforcement they likely would not have the resources to do themselves.
The logical conclusion of that statement is that copyright doesn't really matter, whether the license is GPL or not. Violators can ignore the copyright, secure in the confidence that the majority of people won't have the resources to sue.
So why don't we assign copyright for all open source projects to the FSF? After all, if the software is free, it doesn't really matter who the copyright holder is, right? And having someone who can enforce is is good, right?
Yes, I'm playing devil's advocate here. There are unstated assumptions in the FSF's position, and in peoples support of it. I'd like to clarify what those assumptions are, and why they're true (or not).
> So no, it's not about a specific situation. It's about the principle of the thing.
That's fair.
> i.e. if the FSF can be founded on the principle of freedom, why can't I claim to believe in the principle of freedom too?
They're founded on a principle of freedom as defined specifically by the four freedoms.
> The logical conclusion of that statement is that copyright doesn't really matter, whether the license is GPL or not. Violators can ignore the copyright, secure in the confidence that the majority of people won't have the resources to sue.
Yes there's a problem with the Copyright system. But the law does act as a deterrent because there is always risk involved in violating it.
> So why don't we assign copyright for all open source projects to the FSF?
The simple answer: they only accept copyright assignments for GNU projects.
They don't have the staff for enforcing others' copyrights, though; there's other organizations for that, like the Conservancy.
> After all, if the software is free, it doesn't really matter who the copyright holder is, right?
Sure it does: only the Copyright holder has standing in court.
No, because the FSF owns the copyright. They have to do it.
Or maybe the program has mixed copyright (you and the FSF), in which case the same problem (and solution) applies for mixed-copyright software.
So how exactly, does assigning copyright to the FSF make anything better for anyone? It helps the FSF, sure. But everyone else (including the author) is negatively impacted by it.
In contrast, if copyright remains with the author, then the only thing the FSF would lose is the ability to sue for infringement of the code you contributed.
They could still sue for infringement of the code that they own.