Author: Ahmed Zsales 2015-09-01 23:21:30
Published on: 2015-09-01T23:21:30+00:00
The email thread discusses the ownership and licensing of the Bitcoin blockchain. One participant argues that to put a license on something, one must own it first, but there are laws to protect databases. Suggestions are made as to who might be assigned rights to the blockchain and why. Another participant argues that copyrights can be about protecting revenue, but they can also be about asserting a right to something and giving up those rights. A license provides protection in transactions where government agencies develop means to reveal the transaction. The MIT license gives Core developers rights to revenue from the software. The group agrees that guidance and context are necessary to aid the BIP discussion process. However, mining has taken a different path than the original reference client had intended, so assigning rights to miners is just a proposal. The participants agree that users pay to use the network but have no defined rights anywhere. The Bitcoin blockchain is in the public domain, and royalty-free use of the data is referenced. One participant opposes any wording that attempts to charge a fee for displaying blocks at public block explorers' websites.
Updated on: 2023-06-10T21:46:35.389157+00:00