News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by aaomidi on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:34AM (#28470129)
If they're dead then they're not going to stop you from changing the license.

What are they gonna do? Sue you from beyond the grave?

Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by dvdkhlng on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:40AM (#28470211)
I think copyright is inherited by the heirs (in most cases relatives of the deceased) and carries on quite a long time after death. So the relatives may actually sue you, and any discussion WRT relicensing would have to be addressed to them.

I actually consider putting something into my will that states that all my open-source contributions are relicensed to "public domain" (CC0 [1]) once I die.

[1] https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc...

Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by pabs3 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @09:17PM (#28476700)
Its also possible to transfer your copyrights before your death. For example to the FSF or to Software Freedom Conservancy. I hear there are tax implications for copyright bequeathment, which is why transferring copyrights is preferred.

https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/

Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by CodeWriter23 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:37AM (#28470170)
Their heirs could do precisely that.
Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by colejohnson66 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @11:15AM (#28470595)
Yep. It’s how the Marvin Gaye lawsuits these past few years have been able to happen (despite him being dead). His estate is suing.
Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by junon on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:40AM (#28470198)
IANAL but I believe a Qui Tam could take place by surviving family. Or inherited copyrights, etc.
Re:60x speed-up of Linux “perf” by faho on Thursday September 09, 2021 @10:37AM (#28470169)
Inheritance exists.