a copyright by another name
a legal instrument that makes everybody free to copy a program as long as the person getting the copy gets with it the freedom to distribute further copies, and the freedom to modify their copy (which means that they must get access to the source code)
a notice giving the public legal permission to redistribute and modify a program or other work of art, but requiring modified versions to carry similar permission
a type of copyright licence that ensures that all derived works must offer the same rights to their users as the author's were granted
Term used for the copyright agreement and license statement created by Richard Stallman for software developed under the GNU project. Recipients of software under this license are entitled to receive and use the source code of the software to which the license applies. In addition, recipients are permitted to redistribute the licensed software and to make derivative works provided that the source code of the derivative is also made available under similar conditions. The current version of " copyleft" is the GNU Public License.
Copyleft coined by artist Ray Johnson to describe his appropriation of images then distributed in a noncommercial manner as mail art or as gifts. The phrase has been adopted, particularly by Free Software developers, to name adaptive use of copyright law.
One of the backbone concepts of the open source software movement is the idea of copyleft. Coined by the Free Software Foundation, copyleft stipulates that a piece of software can be freely distributed and modified as long as a copyleft statement travels with it that tells others they can freely distribute and modify the software code as long as they keep it open to distribution and modification (and keep the copyleft statement on it).
A licensing system by which the licensor uses and licenses his copyright on a work to allow anyone to use, modify or improve the work, on condition that any beneficiaries of this advantageous license do the same with their own copyright on the modifications or improvements. "Copy-left" is meant to be the antithesis of "Copy-right", which is seen as a way of keeping works under control. This term is associated with the Free Software Foundation (where the term and system were born) and Open Source Initiative movements. ( http://www.gnu.org) (FR:Copyleft, IT:Copyleft, DE:Copyleft )
A generic term used to designate a plethora of licenses that aim to limit the power of copyright, and enrich the Commons. See Creative Common s and GNU General Public License
Another term that is sometimes used as a synonym for the GNU General Public License. 1453
Copyleft is phrase first used by artist Ray Johnson to describe the way he mixed images together from various media sources and then made them available by ephemeral means such as mail art or as gifts. The phrase has since been used by Free Software developers to name their variant use of copyright law.
A copyleft is a notice giving the public legal permission to redistribute a program or other work of art. Copylefts are used by left-wing programmers to promote freedom and cooperation, just as copyrights are used by right-wing programmers to gain power over other people. The particular form of copyleft used by the GNU project is called the GNU General Public License. See section GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE.
From the Free Software Foundation: "Copylefted software is free software whose distribution terms do not let redistributors add any additional restrictions when they redistribute or modify the software. This means that every copy of the software, even if it has been modified, must be free software. Copyleft is a general concept; to actually copyleft a program, you need to use a specific set of distribution terms. There are many possible ways to write copyleft distribution terms." The GNU General Public License (GPL) (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html) is the classic example of copyleft licensing. Source: TechSoup.org
A software licensing scheme in which programs can be modified, redistributed or even sold, with the proviso that anyone who does so also passes on the freedom to make further changes.
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright and is the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions of a work for others and requiring that the same freedoms be preserved in modified versions.