Michel,
I said:
>> a translation is clearly a "derived work" in copyright terms;
You replied:
> a translation of the manual is not a derived work
You are incorrect. In both Anglo-American and in French law, a
translation is a derivative work (called "oeuvre composite" in the Code
de la propriété intellectuelle, but also called "oeuvre dérivée"
informally). Take a look at
http://www278.pair.com/espace/quid/documentation/docformation/proprietel
itteraire.pdf for a tutorial on French copyright law.
> Bill Schelter gave me the authorization to translate his manual
> into French without any restrictions
That is simply a copyright license (for the parts copyright by Bill) and
sublicense (for the parts copyright by MIT).
I could say much more, but I really don't want to turn the Maxima list
into a seminar on copyright law....
-s