r164 - /web/deps/dep5.mdwn

[lars at users.alioth.debian.org]

Author: lars
Date: Thu Jan 20 07:41:08 2011
New Revision: 164

URL: http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/dep/?sc=1&rev=164
Log:
Add public-domain license shortname. Thanks, Ben Finney.

Modified:
    web/deps/dep5.mdwn

Modified: web/deps/dep5.mdwn
URL: http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/dep/web/deps/dep5.mdwn?rev=164&op=diff
==============================================================================
--- web/deps/dep5.mdwn (original)
+++ web/deps/dep5.mdwn Thu Jan 20 07:41:08 2011
@@ -389,6 +389,7 @@
 
 [[!table data="""
 **keyword** | **meaning**
+`public-domain` | No license required for any purpose; the work is not subject to copyright in any jurisdiction.
 `Apache`       | Apache license [1.0](http://spdx.org/licenses/ASL-1.0), [2.0](http://spdx.org/licenses/ASL-2.0).
 `Artistic`     | Artistic license [1.0](http://spdx.org/licenses/Artistic-1.0), [2.0](http://spdx.org/licenses/Artistic-2.0).
 `BSD-2-clause` | Berkeley software distribution license, [2-clause version](http://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause).
@@ -467,6 +468,27 @@
 > also delete it here.
 
 
+### Public domain
+
+The `License` short name `public-domain` does not refer to a set of
+license terms. There are some works which are not subject to copyright
+in any jurisdiction and therefore no license is required for any
+purpose covered by copyright law. This short name is an explicit
+declaration that the associated files are “in the public domain”.
+
+Widespread misunderstanding about copyright in general, and the public
+domain in particular, results in the common assertion that a work is
+in the public domain when this is partly or wholly untrue for that
+work. The
+[Wikipedia article on public domain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain)
+is a useful reference for this subject.
+
+When the `License` field in a paragraph has the short name
+`public-domain`, the remaining lines of the field **must** explain
+exactly what exemption the corresponding files for that paragraph have
+from default copyright restrictions.
+
+
 ## Syntax
 
 License names are case-insensitive, and may not contain spaces.