>> I heard a rumor, ages ago, that the regents released the 4.4 code
>> into the public domain.  Is this true?
> No.  This is NOT the case.  The code is not in the public domain,
> i.e., the regents could rescind the copyright at any time, and from
> that date forward we could be denied the right to release the
> software.

Is _that_ how US copyright law works?  I had always thought that
copyright was not something that could be resicinded, that a given
work, once (non-mistakenly) released under given copyright terms, can
always be handled in ways that are in accordance to those terms.

And I don't see anything in the copyright notice on
sys/kern/uipc_mbuf.c (a file I picked "at random") allowing the Regents
to stop redistribution at any future time.

If they change their policy, we may not be able to take any new code
from them, but as far as I understand the applicable law[%], we could
continue working with the code we've got.

[%] Of course, I'm not a lawyer, much less an intellectual property
    lawyer.  If it matters, as always, consult one.

					der Mouse

			    mouse@collatz.mcrcim.mcgill.edu