[sldev] The criminalization of open source

[Lisa Carter]

> With no value to the Linden, no one is committing a crime over
> copyright.  There is no value to the sale or trade. No damage done.
> Worst someone can do is a slap on the wrist and say "stop it."
> 


Ok, I really *don't* want to get dragged into any of the debates going on on
this list (sigh) but in good conscience I feel I need to say this much
before someone gets themselves in trouble from mis-information:

You can still be sued for copyright violation even if you give something
away for free, and even if the object has no resale value. This is called
"statutory damages". The amounts awarded are typically in the range of $750
to $300,000 US.

The US copyright office has a number of publications you can read here to
educate yourself: http://www.copyright.gov/  International copyright law
varies, but many of the principles are the same in the major nations.

Whether or not the Linden dollar has any value is completely irrelevant to
copyright law.

-L