On 9/19/23 01:11, Hannes Reinecke wrote:
Hmm. I'm not sure if replacing the original e-mail addresses in the
copyright portions of the source file is the way to go. For figuring
out which e-mail address one should consult the MAINTAINERS file; I
would treat the e-mail addresses in the copyright primarily as a
reference to the original author and the company he worked for at
that time. So I'd rather not change that.
But that's personal opinion, of course. I'm not a lawyer.
Thanks Hannes for having taken a look. I'm not a lawyer either. This is
what I found by searching on the web for "How to write a copyright
notice?":
* The standard format for a copyright notice is (1) a copyright symbol
followed by (2) a date, (3) the name of the author and (4) a statement
of rights.
* None of the guides that were written by a lawyer mentioned the
inclusion of an email address in the copyright notice.
The Bard software told me the following: "Legally speaking, the email
address is not required for a copyright notice to be valid. Copyright
protection is automatic in most countries, and a copyright notice is
simply a way of notifying others of your ownership rights. However,
there are some potential benefits to including an email address in your
copyright statement.
For example, if someone infringes on your copyright, you can use your
email address to contact them and ask them to stop. You can also use
your email address to file a DMCA takedown notice with a hosting
provider or search engine."
Anyway, unless someone has another opinion, I will revert the email
address changes in the copyright statements when I repost this patch
series.
Bart.
