[MNG-7734] Default configuration file (settings.xml) contains copyright notice

**[Philippe Cloutier](https://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/ViewProfile.jspa?name=chealer)** opened **[MNG-7734](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MNG-7734?redirect=false)** and commented

[The default contents of Maven's settings.xml configuration file](https://gitbox.apache.org/repos/asf?p=maven.git;a=blob_plain;f=apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/conf/settings.xml;hb=HEAD) start with the following comment:

```xml

```

As a result, my organization has _settings.xml_ files which start with that copyright notice. This is confusing and distracting, making an already long file even longer. A casual look makes it seem as if that file is unmodified source, while it is in fact a configuration file.

It is true that the file contains sizable test comments which must be subject copyright, so the notice is correct and has some value. However, its prominence (length and position, before even the file's description) increases the risk of confusion.

Since copyright notices are not necessary to copyright protection, since the Apache License is permissive and since the value of copyrights on that file are limited, I recommend to remove that notice from settings.xml.

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**Affects:** 3.9.0

Open apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/conf/settings.xml and inspect the leading copyright comment. Remove that notice while preserving the file description and the test-related comments that remain relevant.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.