Frequently Asked Questions
The following are questions related to copyfree licensing policy and certification that have been asked and are not answered elsewhere on this Website.
Q: Is the imlib2 license a copyfree license?
A: The license used by imlib2 appears to be a work-alike of the 4-clause "Original BSD License", which is not compliant with the Copyfree Standard Definition, though further analysis may determine that its vague phrasing renders its advertising clause ineffective. For now, it is considered non-copyfree.
Q: What are the goals of the Copyfree Initiative?
A: The purpose of the Copyfree Initiative is simply to inform people about copyfree policy, and to foster the broader use of copyfree policy. Many copyfree policy advocates have different -- sometimes contradictory -- reasons for preferring copyfree policy over alternatives, such as copyright abolition, encouraging open works development that can more easily be used with other copyrighted works, improving the ability to reuse works in pursuit of greater cultural or technological advancement, adopting and advocating for business models that are resilient in an environment of increasing online filesharing, and many other reasons, including simply wanting to avoid the bureaucracy of complex licensing. Your ultimate goals are your own, but if you want to get there by way of copyfree policy, the Copyfree Initiative is here to help.
Q: Why isn't the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 a certified copyfree license?
A: Unfortunately, Creative Commons has included a term in its Attribution licenses that attempts to prohibit technological restrictions on copying and redistribution. Depending on whether the prohibited technologies are integral to a derivative version or distinct from it, this violates one or both of criteria 3 and 4 of the Copyfree Standard Definition. The relevant text is from point 4a of the Attribution License 3.0:
You may not impose any effective technological measures on the Work that restrict the ability of a recipient of the Work from You to exercise the rights granted to that recipient under the terms of the License.
Q: Why not just use the public domain, instead?
A: Please check the public domain page here at copyfree.org for details.
New Questions
If you have questions you would like answered, please submit them at our contact page.