GitHub and Microsoft are being sued for using open source software without creator attribution in alleged violation of open licensing requirements. What implications does this have for the scholarly literature and Creative Commons licenses?
I’m actually talking about the time before that, because as you say, GNU provided the solution of utilizing copyright to fight copyright.
In the 60s and 70s, software was largely either included with a specific piece of hardware (i.e. had virtually no value without it), or it was developed in academia. This came with a culture of people just sharing software without any regards for copyright and whatnot.
And then of course, some time later, you had the origin story of Stallman, where his printer didn’t work, he fixed the software and helpfully sent the patch to the printer manufacturer, who then threatened to sue him for violating their copyright.
So, Stallman and his movement really wanted the old hacker culture back where copyright didn’t limit their freedom. And then out of necessity, they utilized copyright to fight itself.
deleted by creator
I’m actually talking about the time before that, because as you say, GNU provided the solution of utilizing copyright to fight copyright.
In the 60s and 70s, software was largely either included with a specific piece of hardware (i.e. had virtually no value without it), or it was developed in academia. This came with a culture of people just sharing software without any regards for copyright and whatnot.
That might have eventually shifted on its own, but it was also specifically Microsoft that pushed for a less open culture, see for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists
And then of course, some time later, you had the origin story of Stallman, where his printer didn’t work, he fixed the software and helpfully sent the patch to the printer manufacturer, who then threatened to sue him for violating their copyright.
So, Stallman and his movement really wanted the old hacker culture back where copyright didn’t limit their freedom. And then out of necessity, they utilized copyright to fight itself.