Re: Permaculture copyright

[Judith Hanna <jehanna@gn.apc.org>]

Toby Wrote:
>I'd like to point out another source of confusion so that we can tease apart
>the issues. Bill cites virtually no references in his Pc books, so we never
>know if he's using an original description of someone else's ideas, his own
>ideas, or even copying the works of others. 

One of the things that struck me reading through the Design Manual (do
others shathand this as the permaculture 'Bible' too?) was the number of
techniques I recognised from normal Australian farming practice (or at
least recommended practice --- my father was the first in our area to put
in Yeoman's 'keyline' contours), from my mothers and grandfathers way of
gardening, and from anthropology (where they were mentioned as asides) and
living in New Guinea. That is, I knew of quite a lot from direct
experience, observation and conversation -- without any formal references I
could cite. I assumed that Mollison had similarly picked them up on the
same sort of basis, rather than from any one authoritative source.

When it comes to copyright -- how many others have come across the concept
of 'freeware'. As in "This is published as freeware. You are welcome to
copy it for private or non-profit circulation, provided that: you credit me
as author, you reproduce it accurately and without distortion, and you send
me a copy." I came across this through the science fiction fanzine network,
circulated by a chap called Don Fitch. It seems an, err, permacultural
approach to informal information.

However, of course, formal publications like books and magazines, which are
published as a business from which people aim to make their living, do
require proper copyright protection, as Toby (or was it Lee?) pointed out
Judith Hanna
jehanna@gn.apc.org
15 Jansons Rd, Tottenham, London N15 4JU