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Jean Jordaan <Jean -at- mosaicsoftware -dot- com> wrote:
>I'd like to know what's the industry standard on this? What is the
>usual way of licensing documentation to resellers? Should we demand
>to OK everything that concerns our software? Can they buy the right
>to do as they please? What's the usual boilerplate in cases like
>this?
>
>Any advice or pointers would be sorely appreciated.
You have two ways to go, depending on how your company feels
about its documentation being redistributed and changed.
If your company wants to control redistribution and changes, then
the documentation should be issued under a standard copyright.
The company then has full legal rights over how the documentation
is used. Anyone redistributing it or changing it will be legally
obliged to get your company's permission, and your company can
sue anyone who doesn't have permission (although whether suing
will be worthwhile is another matter).
If your company has no objections to redistribution, but wants to
retain credit for the documentation and some control over its
form, then the documentation could be issued under the GNU Public
License (GPL) or the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL).
The full text of both these licenses can be found at www.gnu.org.
Both licenses allow free redistribution, and specify the types of
changes that can be made. However, be warned: once something is
issued under these licenses, it cannot be released or
redistributed under traditional copyright.
Traditionally, most companies release documentation under
standard copyright law. However, in the last year or two, the GPL
and (since March) the FDL has become more widespread. A number of
companies release everything under a free license. Countless
more, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, release certain products
under free licenses.
One side benefit of the free licenses worth mentioning: since
others can add or change things under controlled circumstances,
your company may wind up with free improved documentation.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
"The Open Road" column, Maximum Linux
3015 Aries Place, Burnaby, BC V3J 7E8, Canada
bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7189
"One of the universal rules of happiness is: always e wary of any
helpful item
that weighs less than its operating manual."
-Terry Pratchett, "Jingo"
