GNU GPL law and "lagom" copyright

Johannes writes "Newsforge column on "lagom" copyright. I think we need to discuss these issues more. Maybe a GNU GPL law isn't so bad after all. As Pawlo states: "Would not a modern democratic society benefit from a plurality of irreconcilable and incompatible doctrines? We need the GNU GPL, but we also need proprietary software, Open Source software, BSD licenses, the Apache license and so forth. That would make the case for GNU GPL legislation void. However, as Lawrence Lessig taught us in his book Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, the code may in itself work against plurality.""

Comments

Definition

[Anonymous Coward]

Lagom

Havamål is full of advises such as "be hospitable, but not too hospitable" (35), "be wise, but not too wise" (54-56), "be careful, but not too careful" (131), "enjoy beer, but don't drink too much" (11-19), enjoy food, but not too much" (20-21), "be careful not to boast over your sharp intellect" (6-7). These wisdoms of life is still a characteristic value in the Swedish mind, indeed, it is one of the most distinguished and revered virtues in the Swedish society. The word itself is untranslatable. It refers to an undefined state between extremes, "not too much, not too little". The dictionary suggest "just right, just enough, sufficiently, adequate, fitting, appropriate, moderate", which hardly captures the inner subjective logic of this genuinely Swedish value. The lagom value can be inferred from equality and the Jante Law and also with the Swedes envy and self-criticism as being different expressions of the same underlying paradoxical values of mutual appreciation/social control and individualism (loneliness)/collective support. The evenness of mind that the lagom is expressing may have been fostered in the evenness in the climate: it is not too hot in the summer, and not too cold in the winter. But several other factors must have contributed.

The lagom, even, mentality among the Swedes can be frustrating for many foreigners, as it is seen as either boring, conflict avoiding, emotionally cool, formal, uncommunicative, socially confined, or spiritually empty. Certainly these aspects can be true, but it can also bee seen as not boring, but expectant; not conflict avoiding, but diplomatic; not emotionally cool, but deep feelings directed inward; not formal, but polite; not uncommunicative, but reflective; not socially confined, but thoughtful; not spiritually empty, but willing to listen to others. The lagom mentality can also be seen as that trait which gives the Swedish society its characteristic stability, and yet openness to influences from outside. In Hofstede's study, Sweden scored low on the "uncertainty avoidance index", which can be exemplified by factors such as "the uncertainty inherent in life is more easily accepted and each day is taken as it comes; the ambiance is one of less nationalism; less showing of emotions is preferred; deviation is not considered threatening - great tolerance is shown"(26). As a matter of fact, the entire Edda mythology can be seen in a ambivalent manner - it is unclear who is in command among the gods (even though Oden probably was considered the highest); there are no absolutely "good guys" (with a possible exception of Balder, the god of beauty, wisdom, and gentleness) or "bad guys"; the gods themselves have flaws and suffer from many of our simple human faults; even the evil giants can be agreeable sometimes; and the seed of destruction (Ragnarök) was actually found among the gods themselves (the intriguing of the god Loke leading to the death of Balder). We can thus see the ability to cope with, even the encouragement of, the uncertainty of life reflected in the Edda, indicating that this trait has a long tradition.

But the lagom has, as indicated earlier, also a repressive effect: you're not supposed to be too good, or too rich. Thus, Sweden does not have an extreme income distribution, just a lagom spectra between the poorest and the richest. The lowest paid in Sweden earns fully 60% more than those with the lowest income in the USA. On the other hand, the 10 % best paid earns only twice as much as those with the lowest income. In the USA the relation is 6:1. The taxes are one of the highest in the world, which makes foreign observers puzzled why the Swede still work so hard?(27) I would suggest that it is a reflection of the equality-Jante Law-lagom triad of values reigning in Sweden: work hard (the Lutheran inheritance to the Vikings), but don't stand out. But all rules have an exception and so also in the case of wealth: Swedes do not revere those who make a fortune from hard work, but the heroes are found in those who win a fortune on lotto, bingo, pools win etc. The national consciousness is in this respect more fatalistic and faith encouraging than what actually Swedes officially claim: belief in the necessity of work, denying of the supernatural and immaterial. This is one of the most official pictures of the Swede, and it is said to origin from the struggle against the forces of nature in the agricultural Sweden, where one had to work hard to survive the long winter. This gave rise to lack of communicative abilities and the little interest for the immaterial side of the existence(28).

from

"The Human Values of Swedish Management"

http://www.fek.su.se/Home/gus/PAPERS\Swedval.htm

Re:Definition

[Anonymous Coward]

>from
>
>"The Human Values of Swedish Management"
>
>http://www.fek.su.se/Home/gus/PAPERS\Swedval.h tm
You mean the page that says:

© Bengt Gustavsson & Sage1995. No part of this work may be reprinted in any form, physical, electronic, or otherwise, without written consent from the author.

But of course, you did get permission, didn't you?

Re:Let me guess...

[psamuels]

Actually, I prefer a longer copyright term to help protect the families of artists.

OK, you currently get life plus 70 years. That will allow your great-grandchildren to continue to profit from your work. Work which they had no part in, nor did their parents, nor their grandparents.

Can you explain why you don't think this is long enough?

If you really write the Great American Novel, but its genius is not recognized until 50 years after you're dead ... I say that should just be tough luck for your descendents.

I see no reason for any copyright to extend more than 30 years. If you are still relying financially on something you wrote 30 years ago ... get a day job already, you're a has-been, not a great artist.

As for your wife - if you were smart you saved and invested while you were making the big bucks for 30 years, so she should have plenty of inheritance anyway.

Re:GPL is defensive

[anothy]

first, you write "The only thing they can do is to spread FUD...", then you follow shortly on with this gem:

...all form of GPL-bashing or trying to put bad words in the mouth of the FSF people are to be looked at with a critical eye.

now who's spreading the FUD? you're advocating, basically, that people be discouraged from debating - and thus improving - the GPL. further, the FSF does take very clear positions on things, and it's often not necassary to put any words in their collective mouths to find something to take issue with. RMS has very strong ideas on the future of software licensing, and many people legitamatly take issue with them. your suggestion is harmful both to the public good and propriatary interests.

Never forget that the BSD and most other license are very weak at protecting our collective work

what? what on earth are you talking about? can you show a single case where a BSD license was found un-enforcable? in fact, BSD's gone to court, which i don't believe can be said for GPL (am i wrong?), and found explicitly enforcable. the BSD license places far fewer restrictions on the recipient of the license than the GPL does, and is thus likely to continue to be better enforceable. what GPL does - and BSD doesn't - is give you the right to see other people's work who used yours; BSD protects yours just fine. and enforcing restrictions on other people's works certainly seems somewhat less fundamental than putting protections on your own.

Under BSD, any company could take our code, slightly change a protocol, patent it and sue the original authors

this is bullshit, pure FUD, and it makes me very angry. in the case you describe, the patent would likely not be awarded, due to the existance of prior art. should it be awarded, it would be overturned if it ever went to court, for the same reason. what you're doing here is dishonest and vicious. you're playing on the fact that the BSD license - unlike the GPL - implicitly preserves the right for the licensee to release propriatary modifications. but, again, BSD still protects the original work (and has for longer, under better testing, than GPL). whether or not to allow propriatary derivative works is something a software author must decide. there are valid arguments on either side, but to reduce the complex issue to the ignorant statement above is just plain wrong.