jumpjack:
Can opensource be copirighted?!?
In particular:
Authors initially derive a right to grant a license to their work based on the legal theory that upon creation of a work the author owns the copyright in that work. What the author/licensor is granting when they grant a license to copy, modify and redistribute their work is the right to use the author’s copyrights. The author still retains ownership of those copyrights, the licensee simply is allowed to use those rights, as granted in the license, so long as they maintain the obligations of the license.
My understanding is that "as owner of the copyright, I give permission for you to use my software". This permission usually includes a clause which stops the recipient from removing that permission for derived works.