texinfo: @copying

Document Permissions

@insertcopying

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3.3.1 '@copying': Declare Copying Permissions
---------------------------------------------

The '@copying' command should be given very early in the document; the
recommended location is right after the header material (Note: Texinfo
File Header).  It conventionally consists of a sentence or two about
what the program is, identification of the documentation itself, the
legal copyright line, and the copying permissions.  Here is a skeletal
example:

     @copying
     This manual is for PROGRAM (version VERSION, updated
     DATE), which ...

     Copyright @copyright{} YEARS COPYRIGHT-OWNER.

     @quotation
     Permission is granted to ...
     @end quotation
     @end copying

  The '@quotation' has no legal significance; it's there to improve
readability in some contexts.

  The text of '@copying' is output as a comment at the beginning of
Info, HTML, and XML output files.  It is _not_ output implicitly in
plain text or TeX; it's up to you to use '@insertcopying' to emit the
copying information.  See the next section for details.

  The '@copyright{}' command generates a 'c' inside a circle when the
output format supports this glyph (print and HTML always do, for
instance).  When the glyph is not supported in the output, it generates
the three-character sequence '(C)'.

  The copyright notice itself has the following legally-prescribed form:

     Copyright (C) YEARS COPYRIGHT-OWNER.

  The word 'Copyright' must always be written in English, even if the
document is otherwise written in another language.  This is due to
international law.

  The list of years should include all years in which a version was
completed (even if it was released in a subsequent year).  It is
simplest for each year to be written out individually and in full,
separated by commas.

  The copyright owner (or owners) is whoever holds legal copyright on
the work.  In the case of works assigned to the FSF, the owner is 'Free
Software Foundation, Inc.'.

  The copyright 'line' may actually be split across multiple lines, both
in the source document and in the output.  This often happens for
documents with a long history, having many different years of
publication.  If you do use several lines, do not indent any of them (or
anything else in the '@copying' block) in the source file.

  Note: (maintain)Copyright Notices, for additional information.
Note: GNU Sample Texts, for the full text to be used in GNU manuals.
Note: GNU Free Documentation License, for the license itself under
which GNU and other free manuals are distributed.