[Tugindia] Early example of GPL?

[David Kastrup]

yoga at math.iisc.ernet.in writes:

> I recently came across a work in Sanskrit *Sanaatana Vigyana
> Samudaya*, authored by one Venkataramanacharya and published in
> 1944. The thing that interested me (which may interest some readers
> of this mail-list) is the copyright which reads: Copyright of this
> work is not reserved by the author, as the work is solely intended
> for the general enlightenment. So, if more copies are required at
> any time, any individual or agency may get the work re-printed in
> any number of copies, without claiming copyright to the work. If,
> however, any explanation or notes, or translation in any language is
> written on, and affixed to the work, then copyright may, justly and
> rightly, be claimed and reserved by any individual or his agent or
> representative or by any Educational Institution, or by any other
> agency.

You are confusing "Public Domain" (which is quite an old concept) with
"GPL".  The point of the GPL as contrasted to PD is exactly that the
GPL restricts all usage to the kind that preserves the rights for all
further recipients.

The above licence is much closer to the current BSD licence than to
the GPL, except that the BSD licence still reserves copyright and
demands that copyright notices are retained, while granting all usage.
The above licence does not even demand that.  It is really pretty much
a "release in the public domain" statement, not at all like the GPL.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum
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