[locke]

Thanks. I see it pretty much the same way. I tend to favor proper credit, though. However, Fair Use gives people the right to do things that are beyond the Diku license, as these cronies seem to be claiming. What I mean by that is that since its free, and your work is free, it has no measurable impact and one cannot sue for remuneration. You can view transformative works (like NiMUD) as fair use.


From Stanford's Copyright and Fair Use library:

Unfortunately, the only way to get a definitive answer on whether a particular use is a fair use is to have it resolved in federal court. Judges use four factors in resolving fair use disputes, which are discussed in detail below. It's important to understand that these factors are only guidelines and the courts are free to adapt them to particular situations on a case-by-case basis. In other words, a judge has a great deal of freedom when making a fair use determination and the outcome in any given case can be hard to predict.
The four factors judges consider are:http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html

On transformative works:

1. The Transformative Factor: The Purpose and Character of Your Use
In a 1994 case, the Supreme Court emphasized this first factor as being a primary indicator of fair use. At issue is whether the material has been used to help create something new, or merely copied verbatim into another work. When taking portions of copyrighted work, ask yourself the following questions:http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html