On Thu, 2007-03-29 at 23:59 +0200, Alessandro Baretta wrote: > [snip] But it has features I need and cannot do without: a full > standards compliant library of IEC components, a notion of modular components > (think of a relay, where the solenoid appears on one page and each of the > contacts on a potentially different page).
I looked into this. I presume your meaning IEC 60617 standard symbols. I looked to see how much this standard would cost to purchase, so "we" could draw a set of compliant symbols. Unfortunately, the standard appears only to be available as an on-line database (which makes sense given the nature of its scope), and its licensing terms won't permit us to make a symbol library from it and give it away. I've contacted someone who attempted to do this in the past, and he was shut down by the IEC's lawyers. He tells me their position was that even if he drew the symbols himself, he would not be entitled to distribute them. I'm dubious as to the legal issues here. Whether it would be possible to "clean room" produce a set of "similar" symbols, by having someone describe the standard symbol, and another person draw it? All in all, it seems like a pretty pointless standard if we can't make a free symbol library from it. (Or even one which looks similar, but doesn't bear the standard's name). There is an option though... if people want a commercial library of these symbols, it could be possible to negotiate a deal with the IEC to get proper access to their database, bulk convert the symbols, and license the resulting product under commercial, restrictive terms. Whether they charge a royalty per sale, or expect a hefty up-front fee would be the make-or-break to that plan. Perhaps for gEDA and the open-source community's sake (who won't want to pay for commercial symbols, and certainly can't distribute them), we should ignore the standard completely - if anyone wants a particular looking symbol, they can draw it - and contribute it back if they wish. Does anyone care to comment / speculate how much a standard can cover by Copyright? Whether symbols looking similar (or the same, even) are in breach of Copyright? If one symbol on its own isn't, is there some "literary work" in the database (ie. the list of symbols). It would be very difficult to reproduce a library of symbols without copying or referring to that. Regards, -- Peter Clifton Electrical Engineering Division, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, 9, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA Tel: +44 (0)7729 980173 - (No signal in the lab!) _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list geda-user@moria.seul.org http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user