Recently, jcw wrote on the tcler's wiki mailing list:
My understanding, and intention, for the wiki has always been to make it as freely available as possible (a second goal for me, is to stay out of legal issues).
To me, that means that the wiki - which is an original collection of information of more-or-less original contributions - is for all practical purposes in the public domain. I definitely do not "own" it in any sense. At the same time, I do think that those who contribute have an implicit copyright - but by entering their text into the wiki, which is clearly a public resource (and known to be modifiable by anyone), I think one can reasonably argue that they are not placing any restrictions on the further distribution of their information (nor even alteration, for that matter).
Not owning it means that whatever I say is no doubt irrelevant - but if it makes your publisher happy: I herewith waive all claims regarding ownership or distribution limitations.
Another comforting fact no doubt, is that ActiveState have also included the wiki in full on the Tcl/Tk 2002 Conference CDROM.
If someone wants to add a note to the wiki to clarify these issues, or quote me, or whatever, please do - you know how to make it happen :)
This means that if you don't like the above conditions, you should feel free to list specific licensing agreement information on software you have created and made available here on the wiki (or anywhere else, for that matter).
KBK (22 October 2002) - I wonder if the original poster was worried about the possibility that the Wiki might be misappropriated. The experience of MathWorld [L1 ] suggests that a publisher might be interested in picking up the contents, rendering them in book form, and using the copyright on the book as a lever to shut down the original site or extort money from its operators.
All code marked with RS or Richard Suchenwirth is definitely free as can be - do what you wish, just don't blame me ;-)
AM I emphatically agree with Richard on this point: any code published by me on the Wiki is freely useable, but without warrantees. I can not imagine a situation where I would publish code or text on the Wiki and not allow its usage in this way, but if this should happen, then it will be clearly stated. As I am not a lawyer, I have not much to add to the above. (Let someone with a legal background make sure that the Mathworld nightmare can not happen, though)
LV Actually, jcw was responding to a request from an author to include the Wikit on a CD attached to an upcoming Tcl book. The problem is, as I understand it, that the publisher requires a clear statement of ownership and release before including material, to prevent subsequent legal problems. In this age where people sue over the silliest things, I can certainly see their concerns. Also, there's the whole "appropriate End User License Agreement" mentality of corporate America (and perhaps elsewhere).
D. McCThe "MathWorld nightmare" happened because the creator of the MathWorld website (as he admits on the above-cited web page) entered into a contract with some unfavorable provisions. These provisions could be, and he says they were, abused by the publisher of a book containing some of the contents of the website. Apparently the contract allowed the publisher to demand that some content be removed from the website on the supposition that, if people couldn't get the content from the website, they would then have to buy the book to get the content.
When you write something in any tangible form (including the contents of a web page), you are automatically the copyright holder. You can then contract various rights in the copyright "bundle of rights" away or give them away, but a publisher can't legally take them from you without your explicit or implicit consent. If you release a work into the public domain, other people get the right to copy and distribute it, etc.--but not the exclusive right to do so. Something like the MathWorld disaster is legally possible only if you (1) retain the copyright and (2) enter into a contract containing unfavorable provisions, which can be used to restrict access to your copyrighted work in ways you don't want. (If you want more details, you'll have to get them from a copyright lawyer such as Ivan Hoffman <http://www.ivanhoffman.com >.)