[orf]

> Without a license it’s not legal to copy and distribute.

Is this true? When you post anything publicly, from sticking a poster on the street to making artwork like banksy, isn’t the default set to “it’s legal to copy, unless explicitly stated otherwise”?

[amarshall]

The default in the majority of the world is that most creative works (including software code) are by-default copyrighted by the author, and the author must explicitly license away those rights. Some jurisdictions (e.g. France) put limits on what rights the author is allowed to give up. I.e., the default is it is illegal to copy (subject to exemptions like “fair use”).

[ryan-c]

Note that this archive project is French.

[fweimer]

Banksy apparently runs a licensing program. Their artwork is most definitely under copyright, and they rely on trademark protection as well.

There is also the practical issue that a lot of content is posted publicly without consent of the copyright owner. It's simply not true that just because someone else committed a copyright violation first, you can commit further violations without impunity based on that first violation.