#tinla — Public Fediverse posts

What they should've done is to separate the MIT, which only covers the source code, and their "Personal License" that governs the compiled product or software. The compiled release is for Personal use only. But the source code is MIT. #IANAL #TINLA

Otherwise, would you put your trust on someone you haven't truly vetted yourself personally that they truly won't exercise their Moral Rights in case they came from a country were Moral Rights are heavily guarded by their Copyright Law? #IANAL and #TINLA

I still don't understand how NFT "ownership" works as far as #Copyright laws are concerned. First thing we need to understand is that most countries do not allow relinquishing/transferring an author's Moral Rights. So, if you buy NFT arts, the author still have complete Moral Rights. #IANAL #TINLA

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mf5dzzqkp7fnmby6blfeljwj/post/3m3pepajo622l

BONUS!

"Contribution to Collective Work. - When an author contributes to a collective work, his right to have his contribution attributed to him is deemed waived unless he expressly reserves it."

Like in open-source projects where the author is a contributor.

For example. If I contribute to an open-source project, eomy right to be attributed for that contribution is deemed waived in the absence of a License notice. It's just automatic. If I mention that my contribution is under a FLOSS/FOSS license, then the license's attribution requirement is followed.

This is different if the author is literally the creator and the one who chose the license for that project. So, if I choose a public domain equivalent license for my project, and later there were other contributors, since I am the creator, I cannot waive my Moral Right to be attributed since it's an inalienable right under Philippine law. In short, I am not a contributor even though it is a collective work, I am the creator of that collective work.

Again! 👉🏽 #IANAL #TINLA

In addition, I learned this a few days ago:

1. since Attribution is under Moral Rights, and
2. only the Author/Creator is granted Moral Rights, and
3. an Author/Creator is defined as a natural person, then

it is mandatory for works to be Attributed to the Author/Creator. If one gives attribution to a legal entity, it is considered misattribution and a violation of the Philippine Intellectual Property Law.

Unlike the US, the Philippines doesn't give an Attribution/Moral Rights to a legal entity. The legal entity can only receive Economic Rights, either through work-for-hire or transfer.

In other words:
- Attribution always belong to the Author/Creator and it is mandatory. (Moral Rights)
- Copyright ownership can be transferred or owned by a legal entity. (Economic Rights)

Strictly speaking:
❌ © YEAR Legal-entity.
✅ © YEAR Legal-entity · Created/made by Author(s).
✅ © YEAR Author(s) · Legal-entity.
✅ © YEAR Author(s).

It is also incorrect to write: © YEAR Group/Team. Because a group/team is not a natural person. It's better to write it as: © YEAR named authors and contributors. (Which then links to a page with names of authors and contributors.)

Wait?! These are wrong?
❌ © YEAR Legal-entity.
❌ © YEAR Group/Team.

Strictly speaking. Since Authors/Creators are not suing anyone for not giving them proper Attributions, the practice continues.

It is only in the US where a Legal-entity is granted the Moral Right to be Attributed as an Author/Creator despite them not a "natural person". 🤷🏽

(Which probably is the reason why those two formats are common, because everyone is trying to copy the USA without being aware it is only valid there.)

Again, don't confuse Moral Rights and Economic Rights.

Attribution is part of Moral Rights. Moral Rights are only granted to Authors/Creators. An Author/Creator is a "natural person", not an entity.

Economic Rights is transferrable (for example, Copyright and Licensing groups like FILSCAP) , and can also be acquired through work-for-hire (your employer). They are generally called the Rightsholder. They can be the Copyright owner but not the Author/Creator.

👉🏽 #IANAL #TINLA

I learned today that because of the strong Moral Rights protection in the #Philippines , it is not possible for Authors/Creators (defined as "natural persons" by law) to dedicate/release their work to the #PublicDomain .

And even if we use 0BSD, MIT-0, CC0, and other similar public-domain-equivalent licenses, we can still sue anyone who:

1. Misused our name
2. Misrepresented us
3. Misused our work (downstream)

All under Moral Rights because we can never waived it under Philippine law. Even with a promise not to sue anyone is not a guarantee.

So, saying, "This work is under 0BSD/MIT-0/CC0 and I will never sue anyone for whatever reason", won't work under Philippine law. The Creator/Author will always have their Moral Rights as the creator/author of the work. It's completely up to you to trust that they will fulfill their promise. 🤪

#Copyright #Copyleft #Licenses #ShareAlike #FreeCulture

👉🏽 #IANAL #TINLA

By the way, don't be confused between #Copyright and #Trademark. These two are totally different.

Let's use Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

While the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are now in the #PublicDomain it does not mean you can freely create and sell your own merchandise with them on it. That falls under Trademark.

Copyright covers works of art like the character, the stories, literary works, music. In the Mickey and Minnie Mouse case, the images and stories, and the character art itself, are now in the Public Domain.

However, using these characters as in a merchandise like mugs and t-shirts is not under Copyright, it is under Trademark. Disney still holds the Trademark rights for these characters.

You can draw Mickey and Minnie. You can create new stories for them. Not only that, but you can write a new literary work, say a novel or a children's book or a film, based on the earliest versions of these characters. Just not anything that falls under Trademark.

If you are going to do something that you think might fall under Trademark law, the best course of action is to ask #Disney. If they say it doesn't fall under Trademark law, then keep that reply, as it is your proof they gave you permission. Otherwise, try to negotiate if you really need it.

So, again, Copyright (and in this case Public Domain) is totally different from Trademark. Many countries choose to call these two as #IntellectualPropertyRights. While it is correct (and confusing), they are different and there is no overlap between them. They have completely separate uses/coverage.

#IANAL and #TINLA, however, it doesn't mean you can't study Copyright and Trademark laws.