Re: Dell vs. GPL

[Jamie Lokier <jamie@shareable.org>]

Ricardo Galli wrote:
> 3.3 In general, the author of a computer programme is the natural or
> legal person or group of natural persons who created it. Where
> collective works are recognized by the legislation of a Member
> State, the person considered by the legislation of that Member State
> to have created the work is deemed to be its author. In the case of
> a programme created by a group of natural persons, the exclusive
> rights are owned jointly. Where a computer programme is created by
> an employee in the execution of his duties or following the
> instructions given by his employer, the employer alone will be
> entitled to exercise all economic rights in the programme, unless
>                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> otherwise provided for by contract.
>
> Note that it only mentions "economic rights".

I was thinking of UK law.  Excerpts from the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988:

       BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
       advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
       in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the
       same, as follows:--

...
       Chapter IV
       Moral Rights
       Right to be identified as author or director
...
       Section 79: Exceptions to right.

         79.--(1) The right conferred by section 77 (right to be
             identified as author or director) is subject to the
             following exceptions.

         (2) The right does not apply in relation to the following
             descriptions work of--
               (a) a computer program;
               (b) the design of a typeface;
               (c) any computer-generated work.

...

       Right to object to derogatory treatment of work
...
       Section 81: Exceptions to right.

         81.--(1) The right conferred by section 80 (right to object to
             derogatory treatment of work) is subject to the following
             exceptions.

         (2) The right does not apply to a computer program or to any
             computer-generated work.

...

       Moral rights
       Section 94: Moral rights not assignable.

         94. The rights conferred by Chapter IV (moral rights) are not
             assignable.


So, in the UK, you lose some (non-transferable) moral rights by virtue
of it being a computer program, but not all moral rights.  In
particular you don't have the moral right to be identified as author
or director of the work, or the right to object to derogatory
treatment of the work.

-- Jamie