GNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License (or GFDL) is a copyleft license that provides anyone
the ability to acquire, edit, redistribute, and repurpose content as long as the GFDL is
applied to the derivative work. This applies to both commercial and noncommercial interests.
It is the complement to the GNU GPL, which is the software equivalent.
Copyleft is a term derived from copyright (even using a variation of the traditional copyright
symbol, as shown in Figure 12-3), and is intended to remove editing and distribution
restrictions from published work. Copyleft is a legal licensing scheme that allows the
author the ability to essentially give away their content to the public??”an act hindered by
traditional copyright restrictions??”while forcing any derivative works to be licensed under
copyleft as well. Copyleft is the defining characteristic of the GFDL and several variations
of the Creative Commons licenses, covered next.8
Figure 12-3.
The copyleft symbol is derived from the
traditional copyright symbol.
WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES
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8. For more information on copyleft, see ???What is Copyleft???? at www.
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